In an unusual incident, MI Emirates skipper Nicholas Pooran withdrew his appeal against Gulf Giants’ Tom Curran during Match 19 of the International League T20 on Saturday (January 25) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

When Giants needed 18 runs off 13 balls, Mark Adair drove Alzarrri Joseph towards long off. The ball was picked by Kieron Pollard as Adair and Curran completed a single.

Pollard fired a throw towards the striker’s end, where Pooran ended up dislodging the bails after Curran casually left his crease even before the ball reached the wicketkeeper.

The Emirates captain immediately made an appeal and the decision was sent upstairs to the third umpire Leslie Reifer, who declared Curran out as he left his crease while the ball was still in play.

As a result, Curran had to walk back towards the pavilion. However, Giants head coach Andy Flower wasn’t one bit pleased with the dismissal as he came out of the dugout and asked Curran to stay on the field.

Tom Curran was eventually called back to bat again and the decision received applause from the entire Giants squad in the dugout.

Here’s the video:

Coming to the match, Curran was able to score three more runs after this incident and was finally dismissed for 16 (13 balls). He shared a crucial 16-run stand with Aayan Afzal Khan (11* off 6) as the duo took the Giants to the brink of a win.

With one run needed off the last ball, Muhammad Zuhaib managed to steal a single to ensure a thrilling win for Giants.

Earlier, MI Emirates posted 151/6 on the board, courtesy of a half-century from Tom Banton (56 off 39) and a notable contribution from Pollard (34 off 24).