The second Test of the three-match series between Pakistan and England at Multan provided wonderful excitement to fans who love to watch the five-day game. Unlike the first Test match, which was a high scoring one, Multan provided a wonderful balance between bat and ball.
Set 355 runs to win, Pakistan began day four of the match on 198/4 with Saud Shakeel unbeaten on 54 runs and Faheem Ashraf on 3. Joe Root removed Ashraf for 10 runs, but then Mohammad Nawaz joined Shakeel and the duo moved forward toward the target at a steady pace.
They added 80 runs for the 6th wicket when Nawaz fell for 45 in 62 balls with 7 fours to his name and one run after Saud Shakeel also fell, caught behind on 94 runs with 8 fours.
However, his dismissal caused quite a furor amongst cricket experts and fans alike.
In the final over of the first session, Wood cramped Shakeel with a similar line, and a faint edge flew towards the wicketkeeper down the leg-side. Shakeel, it seemed, knew he had edged the delivery. Wood led the England appeal and on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Marais Erasmus got together and had a chat before sending the decision to the third umpire.
AUS v SA 2022-23: Josh Hazlewood ruled out of opening Test at Gabba, Pat Cummins likely to play
The soft signal from the on-field officials was out. Third-umpire Joel Wilson had a long look at the replays even as the ball, at one point, looked like it had touched the ground. Another angle suggested that Ollie Pope had got his gloves wrapped around the ball.
"Looks like the gloves are under it, but I can't tell exactly," Wilson said.
With not much evidence to overturn the on-field umpire, Wilson gave Shakeel out, which flashed on the big screen. Saud Shakeel looked distraught as he was dismissed for 94, 6 short of a well-deserved hundred.
Check out the dismissal video here:
Meanwhile, many cricket experts and Pakistani fans were unhappy with the decision and vented their feelings on social media.
Here are the tweets:
