Indian captain MS Dhoni has doused controversy about a
''missing ball'' umpiring blunder that cost his side victory
in last night's dramatic tie against Sri Lanka.
India's batsmen faced one less ball than they should have in
the Adelaide Oval thriller, their 30th over containing just
five deliveries.
The mistake proved crucial as India finished their run chase
at 9-236 - the same score as the Sri Lankans.
But Dhoni distanced the Indians from any complaint.
"It's done and dusted, that is what is important," Dhoni
said.
"We can create a big fuss out of it, but what is the point?"
The error was extraordinary, given it passed by both umpires
on the field, a third umpire in the grandstand and a match
referee.
"We have seen in the past, we have bowled an over and almost
changed sides (ends) and the third umpire interferes and says
`OK, you have to bowl one more ball in this particular
over'," Dhoni said.
"It didn't happen in this game.
"I don't know why.
"But we don't really want to create a controversy out of it,
nothing can be done right now."
While Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene said with a
smile, "I'm not complaining," Dhoni said he wouldn't lodge an
official protest.
The Indian captain needed to hit the last ball of the match
for four to give India a win - but his lofted cover drive was
saved on the fence as the batsmen ran three runs, which tied
the match.
Dhoni linked the `missing ball' howler to his refusal to
allow India to use the Decision Review System (DRS).
"If it (a five-ball over) can happen, then I don't know why
people back DRS so much," he said.
"We have seen people really being happy with DRS in one
series when it goes in their favour and if it doesn't go in
their favour, they're unhappy about it.
"... two umpires in the middle, a third umpire, and a match
referee and the scorer - if it (a five-ball over) does still
happen, it's better off accepting it because as humans they
are bound to make mistakes.
"It's a controversy that is right there - we don't really
want to get into anything like that, just stick to the result
that has happened.
"Hopefully it won't be repeated with us or any other side."
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