WC 2023: Pak decimates Lanka but netizens livid over ‘cheating’, how boundary tampering row snowballed

New Delhi: Last night, cricket fans from all over the world witnessed a nail-biting thrilling contest between two Asian heavyweights Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 8th fixture of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 played in Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad.

In the high-scoring run-fest, the Babar Azam-led Pakistani side defeated Sri Lanka with 6 wickets to spare and made history by successfully completing the highest-ever run chase in the history of the World Cup.

Pakistan’s record run chase

While batting first, Dasun Sanaka’s team displayed batting brilliance and smashed the Pakistani bowlers out of the park several times to put a challenging target of 345 runs for men in green.

Although Sri Lankan opening batsman Pathum Nissanka 51 (61) played a crucial knock for his team, it was the imperious centurions Kusal Mendis 122 (77) and Sadeera Samraawikrama 108 (89) who took charge of building Sri Lankan innings by batting with patience while taking calculated risks at the same time to make sure that their team ends their innings with a mammoth score on the board.

However, the unpredictable Pakistani team lived up to its name once again and went all guns blazing on the Sri Lankan bowlers from the very first ball while chasing down the challenging target.

Even though the Pakistani skipper Babar Azam failed yet again by throwing his wicket after scoring just 10 runs, reliable wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan came to the rescue of his team and played a match-defining knock of 131* runs on 121 balls to bring Pakistan back into the game.

Rizwan was supported by his debutant teammate Abdullah Shafique 113 (103) who smashed his maiden World Cup century and left Pakistan in a winning position by the time he lost his wicket.

However, it was Rizwan who emerged as the star of the night by staying on the field till the last ball and making his team achieve the historical feat of chasing down the target of 345 runs with 10 balls to spare.

Pakistan tampered boundary ropes?

During the course of the match, several internet users started to raise questions on the spirit of the game of the winning team by pointing out an objectionable catch taken by Pak opener Imam ul Haq to dismiss Kusal Mendis on the ball of Hassan Ali.

Pic 1: Pakistan vs Netherlands
Pic 2: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

Why do boundary ropes shift only during Pakistan’s matches? pic.twitter.com/4EHJuSg8ph

— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) October 10, 2023

No way Pakistan fielders saw Shaheen and Hasan Ali bowling and pushed the boundary back. 😭 pic.twitter.com/KAXRhd5iML

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) October 10, 2023

Boundary rope. Not saying they did it on purpose, but they really should have double checked. pic.twitter.com/s1fdvU3XJM

— Shivani Shukla (@iShivani_Shukla) October 10, 2023

The controversy erupted after a viral picture showing a specific patch of grass that looked a bit off colors (Allegedly because of boundary rope).

On the basis of the viral pictures, netizens are now claiming that Imam-ul-Haq took the controversial catch by tempering with the boundary ropes by pushing them away.

Notably, ICC has so far remained tight-lipped on the allegations against Imam and has not issued any official statement about the same.

Pakistan climbs to 2 Spot in the points table

Meanwhile, the historical victory earned Pakistan second spot in the points table while the losing Sri Lankan side slipped down to the second last (9th) position after suffering back-to-back setbacks in its first two games of the tournament.

Pakistan will now face its arch-rival India in its third fixture of the tournament which will be played in Ahmadabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka will look for a comeback by bouncing back in its next game against Australia which will be played in Lucknow’s Ekana Cricket Stadium on 16th October.