Bengaluru, January 11: The Karnataka-Hyderabad match went right down to the wire. Karnataka edged Hyderabad by two runs in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 match at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Thursday (January 11).
What a thriller of a contest we had today! Credit to the boys for keeping their nerves till the end. @StuartBinny84 Brilliant final over🙌 @RanjiKarnataka @BCCIdomestic #GameOn
— Karun Nair (@karun126) January 11, 2018
But as exciting as the contest might sound, controversy took some sheen out of the game.
It all came down to the last over. Hyderabad needed eight in the last over which was bowled by Stuart Binny. Needing three off the last ball, CM Gautam took a stunning catch to dismiss Mohammed Siraj, and handing Karnataka a two-run victory.
Though it was a nail-biting finish, Hyderabad felt like the victory had been snatched away from them, and in an unfair manner. Two runs was what took the centre-stage.
WATCH: Action packed final over, where Karnataka won by 2 runs. 8 needed from 6 balls. Wicket off no-ball. 2 terrific catches from CMG. #ChampionStuff from Stuart Binny who held his nerves to bowl an outstanding over. https://t.co/DWmAEaO1iC #KARvHYD #SMAT
— Karnataka Ranji Team (@RanjiKarnataka) January 11, 2018
Skipper Ambati Rayudu and team-mates went on to stage a protest on the field, which eventually delayed the next game. The second match which was between Andhra and Kerala was reduced to 13 overs per side after the protest ate into their match time.
Earlier two runs had been added to Karnataka’s total after the umpires had failed to notice a Hyderabad player stepping over the boundary line. When skipper Vinay Kumar brought this to their notice, they had added two runs to the Karnataka total.
And a note should be made that the Hyderabad players were alerted about the total and that they would be chasing 206. Hence the match refree rightfully said that Karnataka had won the game. But despite this Rayudu staged a protest.
The BCCI has taken cognizance of the events that unfolded during and after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018 match today between Hyderabad-Karnataka. An official report by the Match Referee is awaited, following which appropriate action as per BCCI’s Code of Conduct will be taken
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2018
BCCI in a twitter post said that they would look into the issue after they receive an official report from the match referee, following which they will take appropriate action.