Umpiring Error During Hyderabad-Karnataka T20 Match Stirs Controversy, BCCI Awaits Match Referee's Report

The Twenty20 match between Karnataka and Hyderabad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Thursday was marred by an umpiring incident which saw Karnataka edge out Hyderabad by two runs. The incident happened when Karnataka opener Karun Nair flicked a Mohammed Siraj delivery over mid-wicket and picked up a couple of runs. However, Mehdi Hassan had touched the boundary rope while picking the ball up. The video replays showed the incident but on-field umpire Ulhas Gandhe did not go upstairs for a video referral.

Reacting to the incident, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that they are awaiting the official report of the match referee after which they will take any action.

"The BCCI has taken cognisance of the events that unfolded during and after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match today between Hyderabad and Karnataka. An official report by the match referee is awaited, following which appropriate action as per BCCI's Code of Conduct will be taken," the national cricket board said on Twitter.

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

When Karnataka came out to bowl, skipper Vinay Kumar walked up to the umpire and two runs were added to the target, which was changed to 206 from 204, which irked Hyderabad captain Ambati Rayudu.

Hyderabad lost the tie by two runs as they folded up scoring 203/9 at the end of their 20 overs.

Talking about the matter, Rayudu said, "There was some confusion in the middle at the start of our innings. What I went and told the umpire was 'sir you cannot change the score, we are batting for 204 as our target,'" Cricbuzz quoted Rayudu as saying.

"At the end, we went and asked to start the Super Over. That is exactly our point of contention. We never even thought of stopping the second match, that has got nothing to do with us. We were insisting that our match was not complete, we still have to play the Super Over. That is exactly why we went to the middle, we were actually going to warm up then," Rayudu further added.

Brief scores: Karnataka 205/5 in 20 overs (Karun Nair 77, Krishnappa Gowtham 57; Ravi Kiran 2-33) beat Hyderabad 203/9 in 20 overs (Akshath Reddy 70, Stuart Binny3-29) by 2 runs)

 (with IANS inputs)