Pakistan’s team director Mohammad Hafeez put partial blame on “inconsistent umpiring and technology curse” after the visitors fell 79-run short during their chase of 317 in the second Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday.
Hafeez addressed a presser after the match and didn’t hold back at all as he hit out at the inconsistent decisions by the umpires which played their part during Pakistan’s loss in Melbourne.
“We made some mistakes as a team, we take that and we will address those things. But at the same time, I believe [that] inconsistent umpiring, technology curse, really given us a result which should’ve been different,” Hafeez told in a press conference.
“Pakistan failed to make a comeback after decision given against Mohammad Rizwan. We were very close to the victory in Melbourne Test but I’m very hopeful Pakistan can win Sydney Test.”
He also addressed Babar Azam, who has been failing to score big in red-ball cricket as the 29-year-old finished the year 2023 without scoring a single half-century.
“Babar is a great player. We wish him to score big in upcoming matches. He is batting really well in the nets. We look forward for Babar to play a match-winning innings for Pakistan in Sydney Test,” he added.
It must be noted Hafeez’s comments came after Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan was given out controversially. The timing of the dismissal was crucial as the visitors looked were batting comfortably during their chase of 317 runs.
Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins appealed for a caught behind in the 61st over of Pakistan’s second innings but the umpire gave it not out. After which the Australian captain decided to review the decision as he thought Rizwan might have gloved it.
After the third umpire took a look at the appeal from different angles and reckoned that there was a spike as the ball passed the wrist band so the on-field umpire was asked to change his decision.
However, the hotspot showed no mark as the 31-year-old looked away from the ball at the last second. Rizwan, who was sure that he didn’t get anything on it, went back to the hut in utter disbelief.
Rizwan was batting on 35 runs, with Pakistan 98 runs away from victory, when the incident took place.
Pakistan will play the last Test against Australia in Sydney, which will begin on January 3.
