Five-ball over - Massive umpiring blunder in Australia-Afghanistan clash at T20 World Cup

The T20 World Cup in Australia has narrowed the battle for the semi-final spot in Group 1 of the Super 12 stage down to net run rate (NRR). With rain affecting the earlier stage of the tournament which resulted in washing out crucial matches, subsequent results in the group has led to as many as four teams battling it out for the semis berth. And in such instances, every run scored matters more, given it would ultimately affect the NRR. Hence, a small umpiring error could go a long way and prove very expensive for a team. 

On Friday, in the penultimate game of Group 1, between defending champions Australia and already-ousted Afghanistan, a massive umpiring error was highlighted on social media. The match in Adelaide is a must-win game for Australia, but more so, they would want to win the game by a huge margin to stay ahead on NRR and deny England, who play on Saturday against Sri Lanka, a chance to go ahead in the fight for the semis.

During the fourth over of the game, Australia batters Mitchell Marsh and David Warner combined to face just five balls in the over. Either batters scored a single of the first two balls before Marsh cracked the half-volley on the third ball over backward point for a boundary. Marsh then sneaked three runs on the next ball owing to some sloppy fielding from Afghanistan leading to an overthrow. The fifth delivery was a dot ball. There was no sixth ball bowled in that over.

Given how important facing every ball is for Australia, who want to stay ahead in the battle against England in terms of NRR, the denied delivery could turn out to be expensive.

New Zealand are already through to the semis. The battle is now down to England, Sri Lanka and Australia in Group 1. Australia need to win, and by a huge margin against Afghanistan to stand a chance and hope England lose to Sri Lanka on Saturday.