There was a potential controversy during the third T20I between India and Afghanistan regarding an overthrow. Rahul Dravid, however, did not think much of it.
The third T20I between India and Afghanistan went into a Super Over after both teams finished on 212. Batting first, Afghanistan were 13-1 after five balls from Mukesh Kumar when Mohammad Nabi missed Mukesh Kumar’s wide yorker.
As Rahmanullah Gurbaz sprinted for a bye, wicketkeeper Sanju Samson threw the ball but missed the stumps. It deflected off the leg of the running Nabi – who had his back towards Samson – and the batters ran three.
At long on, Virat Kohli stopped the ball with his boot and did not attempt to throw. Indian captain Rohit Sharma remonstrated with the umpires, but the runs stayed put.
The two extra runs turned out to be important, for the teams were tied on Super Over as well. India eventually won the match after the Second Super Over.
Indian coach Rahul Dravid had no qualms regarding Nabi taking advantage of the overthrow. “It’s fine. It’s part of the game,” he told at the post-match press conference. “It hit the non-striker and then it moved and I think it is fine, you know, you can run for those. To be honest, in the first T20I there was an incident where it hit the bat of our batsman and we ran a run as well.”
Afghanistan chose to run overthrows after a shy from Sanju Samson hit one of the batters, and Virat Kohli – and the rest of the India team – weren’t happy 😡
Is it against the Spirit of Cricket to take extra runs off deflections?#INDvAFG ⬇️https://t.co/VB1mSic7YH
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 17, 2024
The incident Dravid mentioned involved Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma, who ran an overthrow when the ball deflected off Gill’s bat in the last ball of the third over.
“I think there’s nothing to read into, there’s nothing in the rules that stops you from actually running those runs. That’s fine, it’s part of the game.”
Dravid also spoke of the reactions by the Indian team: “Some frustrations at times can happen but it is okay. It can happen at the end. I think sometimes when you play for your country, there’s so much passion and emotion. I think it is incredible that even in dead-rubber games when it gets down to the wire, that competitiveness comes out, that passion comes out, as long as it doesn’t cross the line.
“That’s why we have match referees and people who are there to look at these things. I think sometimes a little bit of that passion and emotion is really important. It shows that people care. I think as long as it doesn’t cross the line, it’s great.”
