KARACHI: Pakistan’s wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed’s controversial dismissal in the first innings of the ongoing second Test against New Zealand enraged cricket fans.
Sarfaraz scored his third consecutive half-century since his return, courtesy of his magnificent 78-run knock under pressure, which, however, ended in a bizarre fashion.
Daryll Mitchell bowled the third delivery of the 100th over full on the leg side and deceived Sarfaraz with his counterpart Tom Blundell dislodging the bails sharply and leg-umpire referred the appeal to the third umpire Ahsan Raza.
After watching various replays from multiple angles, Ahsan decided that Sarfaraz had nothing grounded behind the crease and thus, gave him out.
Sarfaraz’s dismissal sparked enrage among the fans who called out the umpires for their blunders and insisted that they should have given the benefit of doubt to the batter.
Here’s how they reacted:
I Think Saifi Bhai Was Not Out.#PAKvNZ
— ولی عمران (@MrDheethun) January 4, 2023
https://twitter.com/AliiRazaa14/status/1610584561926406144
Muje to not out lag Raha hai Saifi Bhai 🧐😨
— ⦕𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘯 🇵🇸⦖ (@Shahidameen2526) January 4, 2023
https://twitter.com/pct_forlife/status/1610575216047947778
It wasn,t out
Saifi bhai 💔 pic.twitter.com/VJ0JUrN7Nz— Usman Cheema (@Babar5656) January 4, 2023
Poor Saifi Bhai, Home umpires surely are against us at this point.
— Ramiya 2.0 (@yehtuhogaaa) January 4, 2023
Saifi bhai has been robbed.
— Azlan Mehmood (@azlanmahmood1) January 4, 2023
It is pertinent to mention that the fifth-wicket partnership between Sarfaraz and Saud Shakeel lifted Pakistan after New Zealand piled up 449 runs in the first innings.
After Sarfaraz’s dismissal, Salman Ali Agha put on a handy 63-run partnership with Saud before falling to Ajaz Patel after scoring 41.
When this story was filed Pakistan were 393/7 and still 56 runs behind.
READ: Sarfaraz completes 6000 international runs across formats
