As two formidable teams from South Africa and Pakistan squared off on Friday at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai for the 2023 World Cup, a heated debate about the Decision Review System (DRS) erupted.
The ICC and official broadcaster Star Sports have come under fire from online users for manipulating the DRS to give Pakistan’s Rassie van der Dussen the wicket. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also been accused of cheating by a few social media users.
The event happened when Babar Azam pulled Usama Mir, a concussion substitute, into the attack in the 19th over of South Africa’s innings. When the right-hander attempted to play that again, the leggie delivered a top-spinner that skidded into his pads.
The Proteas hitter took the review after the umpire ruled that it had dropped down leg. Netizens claim that while the ball-tracking initially displayed the wickets as missing, the broadcast quickly corrected this and produced a second ball-tracking that displayed the umpire’s call.
In a match that they desperately need to win, Pakistan, who won the toss and chose to bat first, amassed 270 points. Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, scored fifty-seven runs, while all-rounder Shadab Khan and top scorer Saud Shakeel combined for eighty-four runs.
