Mehidy Hasan’s run out of Salman Agha caused quite a stir in the second ODI
Pakistan have brushed aside a contentious run out to dismiss Salman Agha to level their one-day international series with Bangladesh.
Rookie allrounder Maaz Sadaqat was the star for the visitors as Pakistan won a rain-affected second ODI in Dhaka by 128 runs.
The 20-year-old Sadaqat, playing in just his second game for Pakistan, hit 75 off 46 balls, and grabbed 3-23 with his left-arm spin to be an easy pick for player of the match honours on Friday.
After Sadaqat, Agha (64) and Muhammad Rizwan (44) put on 109 runs for the fourth wicket before the run out of the former sparked a Pakistan collapse as they lost their last seven wickets for 43 runs to be bowled out for 274 in 47.3 overs.
Agha was at the non-striker’s end when he got tangled up with spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz who was trying to field Rizwan’s on drive that was stopped by the bowler’s foot before rebounding onto the batter’s pad.
While out of his ground, Agha bent down to pick up the ball at the same time as the bowler, who got there first and then underarmed the ball onto the stumps.
Agha threw his glove and helmet into the ground in frustration before the third umpire confirmed the dismissal.
“He was away from the wicket, and I was just looking for the ball,” Bangladesh captain Mehidy said during the post-match presentation. “If (I) miss, he would go for the run, so I was just thinking like that.”
Understandably, Agha saw it differently when asked about the dismissal in his press conference.
“It is in the law and I’m someone who always wants to follow the law, but … I think sportsman spirit has to be up there no matter what situation,” he said.
“But if he thinks it’s right, it’s right. (From) my perspective I would have done it differently, I would have gone for sportsman’s spirit.
“(The ball) hit my pad and then my bat so I thought he can’t get me run out now because it already hit my pad and my bat, so I was just trying to give him the ball back because I was not looking for the run.
“So I was just trying to do that, but he had a different idea.”
Agha added that he regretted his dummy spit after the incident but said it happened in the “heat of the moment”.
Bangladesh were 3-27 in reply and Pakistan skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi had two wickets when lightning and a hailstorm delayed play for well over two hours.
Bangladesh’s target was then revised to 243 in 32 overs.
But the hosts were never in the hunt, bowled out for 114 in the 24th over.
On resumption, Sadaqat trapped top-scorer Litton Das (41) lbw in his second over; Afif Hossain was brilliantly snapped up low by Agha at midwicket and Rishad Hossain was clean bowled by a superb arm ball.
Fast bowler Haris Rauf, the only change by Pakistan from the first game, then cleaned up the tail with 3-26 and Bangladesh were dismissed in 23.3 overs.
Left-handed opener Sadaqat dominated all three Bangladesh pacers and took on Nahid Rana by smashing the fast bowler over his head for a straight six in his first over.
In total, he launched five sixes and six fours and provided a strong start of 103 runs with Sahibzada Farhan (31) in 13 overs.
Bangladesh won the first ODI by eight wickets after a new-look Pakistan with four debutants were also bowled out for 114.
The series decider will be played on Sunday at the same venue.
