Asia Cup 2018: Shouldn’t have asked for review, says KL Rahul

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Dubai [UAE]: Indian opener KL Rahul, who took an unsuccessful Decision Review System (DRS) against Afghanistan in the final Super Four fixture of the ongoing Asia Cup, felt that he should not have taken that review. Rahul (60 off 66 balls) went for the DRS after he was given out LBW in the 21st over. The opener, who looked to go for the reverse sweep against Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, missed the ball completely.

The DRS showed that the Indian team lost their review as the decision stayed out. MS Dhoni, who was playing his 200th ODI as a captain, got out LBW on 8 runs off Javed Ahmadi. However, the replay showed that the ball was missing the leg stump. With the Indian team falling short of a review after the unsuccessful challenge by Rahul, the stand-in skipper had to go back to the pavilion. Dinesh Karthik got a rough call too after he was sent back for 44 runs after a wrong decision from the umpire.

“It’s very tricky when you have just one review with you. Obviously, looking back at it, I felt like I shouldn’t have taken the review but at that time, in the middle, I felt like maybe I was struck outside and I wanted to take that chance,” Rahul said at the post-match press conference. “Sometimes you can sit back here and review the review you took. We learn with it. The shot I played, the review that I took, I’ll have to go back and maybe if it happens again I’ll be in a better position to know. I don’t think we crumbled. When the ball starts slowing and spinning like that, it is hard for middle order batsmen to come in and get the runs going. I think DK (Dinesh Karthik) played really well and in the end, Jadeja and Deepak put up a decent fight,” he added.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan praised his team and said that the draw against the Indian team was a history for his side.  “It’s a really proud moment for my team and me. We’ve played good cricket in Asia Cup. The way we’ve finished today, I am proud. Credit goes to the guys. It’s a history for Afghanistan because we have never played such cricket before in Asia Cup,” he said. The India-Afghanistan Super Four match in the ongoing Asia Cup came to a nail-biting finish, ending up in a draw, owing to Khan’s brilliant last over.

Needing just seven runs off the final over, the Indian team scored six runs off the first four balls to level the score. But on the fifth ball, Khan got the better of Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and bowled the Men in Blue for 252. The match was the 36th tie in 4046 ODIs. Afghanistan opener Mohammad Shahzad was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant batting performance. India have already booked their place in the finals of the tournament, while Afghanistan were eliminated after losing their last match against Bangladesh. The Men in Blue will face either Pakistan or Bangladesh in the final of the Asia Cup on September 28.