‘Ye pange hamesha Bangladesh ke sath hi hote hai’ -Fans react as Smriti Mandhana gives her statement on umpiring standards in India-Bangaldesh series
India and Bangladesh Women played out a thriller in the third ODI between the two sides, Bangladesh Women scored a challenging 225-4 in their 50 overs. India’s eastern neighbours got there thanks largely to Fargana Hoque’s superb 107 off 160 balls with seven fours. Shammina Sultana played a good knock of 52 off 78 balls with five fours. In reply, India also got to 225 and lost their last wicket of the last ball of their innings. Thus the match was tied. Smriti Mandhana made 59 off 85 balls with five fours.
Harleen Deol played an outstanding knock of 77 off 108 balls with nine fours to keep India in the hunt. But it was so near yet so far for the Women in Blue. Meanwhile, the main issue that took centre stage was Harmanpreet Kaur’s comments about the on-field umpiring in the series. The India skipper also made matters worse when she took the stumps down with her bat after being adjudged lbw. Echoing her skipper’s comments, Smriti Mandhana also pointed out the umpiring standards and shared her views in a statement at the post-match press conference.
We can natural umpires the next time we tour here – Smriti Mandhana
“We kind of expect a little better level. I would term it in a better level of umpiring in terms of some decisions because it was very evident, there was not even a second thought given when the ball was hitting the pad, when our batters were batting. And there’s not even one second thought given before the finger went up. Mandhana said. “I think in any match, sometimes it happens that you are really not happy with the kind of (decisions), and especially when there’s no DRS in a match, in a series of this kind,” She added. Mandhana said that going forward it is better if neutral umpires are available to officiate in future.
“But yeah, I think it’s all part and parcel and we will take everything in our stride. It is trying to be a little positive about everything, and I’m sure that the Cricket Governing Body, Bangladesh Cricket Board and Indian Cricket Board will definitely have a more of a discussion on that and maybe we can have a neutral umpiring system from next time so that we don’t sit here having these discussions and maybe we can focus more on cricket and cricket-oriented questions.”
Mandhana also talked about the positives through the series against Bangladesh, then she also said there is room for improvement. The vice-captain further indicated that India could have played better if they had understood the conditions better. She also said India will come together to iron out their flaws.
Let us take a look at the reactions on Twitter:
From 191-5 to 225 all out.. Jemimah Rodriguez was 33 not out in the end.. why she didn't finish the game early .. poor batting display by the senior batter.. umpiring wouldn't be an issue had she finished the game while she was on strike
— CT.07 (@DailyM_official) July 23, 2023
I saw the highlights of a few games and the infrastructure was definitely below par, no DRS it seems. But that’s something BCCI should also be responsible for, no? Mandhana played poor shots to get out in both the games we lost and so did quite a few. Overall India were poor.
— Nanda Kishore Y V (@yvnkishore) July 23, 2023
Drs lekar bhi konsa Jeet jate
— Andy Time (@hemusaha_1) July 23, 2023
No wonder Shakib Al Hassan always threatens the umpires
— Akash Nayak (@akashnayak417) July 23, 2023
Demand for DRS in the next series
— saurabh (@saur24insaurabh) July 23, 2023
We also expect better batting from the team.
— Mimalayas (@mimalayas) July 23, 2023
Proud of harmanpreet kangaladesh deserve that belt treatment well done harmanpreet 🙌
— AKHIL🇮🇳 (@Sammy41648183) July 23, 2023
Hahaaa now they know how others feel about umpiring 😅
— Rene Mag (@Magritte40Rene) July 23, 2023
They agreed to the loss. The only thing they said as an added point was the poor umpiring which is no where a wrong statement. Just cuz her one statement came into spotlight it doesn't mean she has been defending her loss
— Aditya Bharatwaj (@AdityaBharatwaj) July 23, 2023
https://twitter.com/Killlmonger_/status/1682979298737618944?s=20
What about better cricket ?, losing while in strong position tells about them very much. This is not the first time they have lost like it. Umpiring was bad…but play better cricket too..
— Picasso (@6icasso) July 23, 2023
