Watch: West Indies beat Zimbabwe in U19 World Cup after Mankad dismissal

Published - 02 Feb 2016, 20:00 IST | Updated - 02 Feb 2016, 20:00 IST

2 Min Read

The West Indies beat Zimbabwe in the ICC U19 World Cup after a Mankad secured a narrow two-run victory for the Caribbean islanders. Zimbabwe needed three runs to win with just one wicket remaining when fast-bowler Keemo Paul began the final over of what was a thrilling match in Chittagong. As Paul approached the wicket to bowl the first ball over the over, non-striker Richard Ngarava began to slowly walk out of his crease in the quest for a quick single. But instead of starting his delivery stride as he ran past the wicket, Paul quickly removed the bails with the ball in his right hand and appealed for a run-out.

The umpires conferred and asked the West Indies if they wanted to withdraw the appeal, which they declined to do, so the officials referred the decision to the third umpire. The TV official reviewed the footage and correctly ruled that Ngarava was just out of his ground when the bails were removed. The decision of out handed the Windies a win thereby securing a quarterfinal berth and ended Zimbabwe’s tournament. The West Indies captain Shimron Hetmyer said he was comfortable with the decision to appeal for the wicket. “I would say yes, cricket is a game of uncertainties, we’ve seen it happen in cricket before, it’s not a big deal for us.”

“Probably not,” said Hetmyer, when he was asked if he thought if it was in the spirit of the game. The incident drew immediate and heavy criticism from some of the biggest names in the sport, with Australia coach Darren Lehmann and New Zealand legend Stephen Fleming quick to tweet their disapproval. Although former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop, who was in commentary at the time, said the decision was made in accordance with the laws of the game and that emotions need to be kept aside while judging the act.

While legal, Mankading has long been viewed as an unsportsmanlike way to dismiss a batsman. The term Mankad has been used for this kind of dismissal since an Indian player of the same name ran out Australia’s Bill Brown during a Test match in Sydney in 1947. The most recent incident of Mankading came in 2014 when England’s Jos Buttler was dismissed by Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake.

Watch: West Indies beat Zimbabwe in U19 World Cup after Mankad dismissal: