Birmingham: The dismissal of England’s star batsman Ian Bell, declared stumped by wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ravindra Jadeja for 13 after a replay, has turned out to be the most controversial moment of the Champions Trophy final.
The drama unfolded when Bell dragged his back foot and it looked like he slightly lifted his leg when Dhoni produced a lightning stumping. Bell was on unlucky 13 at that moment and despite not having conclusive evidence, was given out. Many felt it was a harsh decision from TV umpire Bruce Oxenford. Bell could not believe the verdict while England skipper Alastair Cook said later: “I thought it was a poor decision.”
Cook added: “I only saw the replay a couple of times. Maybe he [Oxenford] saw a different angle than we saw. It looked pretty clear that Bell was in, but he [Oxenford] is paid to make the decisions. It’s the umpire’s game, so that’s said. It’s very hard for the new guys coming in. So we needed a batter in at the end if we wanted to win that game.”
When Indian skipper Dhoni was told about Cook’s reaction to Bell’s decision, he remarked sharply: “I’m not really close to the television, so I don’t really know, and I haven’t seen the television. But there are lots of things that happened. If you start dreaming about stuff, then do not forget the past. Last time we came over here, we were playing the five ODIs. There were no ropes done [drying the outfield by running a rope]. There were never any breaks to make sure that the field was in good condition and we paid the price [unable to hold the ball]. Every time we lost the toss, we were bowling second. So every captain has his views and we all respect that.”
