ICC World Cup 2019: Kevin Pietersen, Anil Kumble laud Aaron Finch’s bold DRS call against Pakistan

Former cricketers Kevin Pietersen and Anil Kumble lauded Australian skipper Aaron Finch after his decision to go for the Decision Review System (DRS) that helped his team beat Pakistan in a thrilling ICC World Cup 2019 encounter at Taunton on Wednesday. ((ICC World Cup 2019: Full Coverage))

Wahab Riaz and Sarfaraz Ahmed were threatening to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat with their stunning 64-run stand for the eighth wicket. But Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc put an end to it by getting rid of the tail-ender in the 45th over.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2019, Australia vs Pakistan, Highlights: As it happened

Starc produced the slightest of edges off Riaz’s bat and appealed straightaway. The umpire said not out and when Finch asked his teammates, wicket-keeper Alex Carey seemed unconvinced. After thinking for a while, Finch decided to go with his gut feeling and asked for the review on the last second of the 15-second timer.

Replays showed that Riaz had indeed nicked the ball and the decision was overturned. During the post-match analysis, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen and former India captain Anil Kumble called it as the turning point of the match.

“When we were watching, we were like just go for the review. I was like just go for it. You have to take the review and that is what Finch did eventually even when his teammates weren’t convinced,” Pietersen told the official broadcasters.

Kumble too sided with Pietersen and said: “The batsmen looked back after edging the ball and that in itself is a sign.”

Also Read: David Warner century powers Australia to 41-run win over Pakistan

Following Riaz’ dismissal, Pakistan lost their final two wickets for just two runs and Australia win the match by 41 runs. This is Australia’s third win of the tournament in four matches and they did well to bounce back from their crushing defeat at the hands of India on Sunday.

First Published:
Jun 12, 2019 23:09 IST

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