Saeed Ajmal, the former Pakistani spinner, has made controversial claims once again while speaking about the infamous Sachin Tendulkar LBW not-out decision in the 2011 World Cup semi-final which was played at the IS Bindra PCA stadium in Mohali.
India and Pakistan qualified for the semifinals after defeating Australia and New Zealand in the quarter-finals respectively. The high-voltage match was been viewed by the Prime Ministers of both countries amidst tight security.
MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar top-scored with 85 in 115 balls in what cannot be described as a fluent Tendulkar knock as he was dropped twice and survived a confident LBW decision thanks to a DRS review.
The match, however, was not deprived of drama and controversy, with Sachin Tendulkar’s LBW decision being one of the major talking points from the game for many years.
Tendulkar was declared out by Ian Gould in the 11th over of the game, but the batter immediately appealed the ruling. Replays revealed that the ball was pitched in line but missed the leg stump. There was a significant uproar in Pakistan on the judgment, and the bowler Ajmal spoke out forcefully against it after the game.
They Had Cut Two Frames: Saeed Ajmal Says Officials Tweaked The DRS Replays
After more than 12 years, it appears the former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal is still salty about the opportunity lost. However, this time, he made a somewhat contentious assertion regarding the dismissal.
“We played the 2011 World Cup, you must remember the incident with Sachin Tendulkar. The LBW decision that was overturned. The controversy about it is still going on. It was out. Both, umpire and I knew it was out. They had cut two frames to make it look like ball missed the stumps. Otherwise, it would’ve hit the stumps in the middle,” Ajmal said on the Nadir Ali Podcast.
Chasing 261 to win, Pakistan could only manage 231 runs with Misbah Ul Haq scoring a half-century and being eliminated from the World Cup tournament.