The Bangladesh team faced a setback due to a highly technical rule during their match against South Africa in the T20 World Cup. Despite being close to victory, South Africa managed to win by a narrow margin of 4 runs in a closely contested game. The disappointment of this defeat will linger for Bangladesh as a specific rule cost them crucial runs, resulting in a loss by the same margin.
South Africa opted to bat on a challenging pitch in New York. In the initial over, Tanzim Saqib pushed back Riza Hendricks without much success. However, in the third over, Tanzim scored a triple off Quinton. Following that, Taskin Ahmed guided African captain Aiden Markram back to the pavilion. South Africa struggled at 23/4 until David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen formed a significant partnership, adding 79 runs for the fifth wicket through boundaries and quick runs.
Taskin broke the stand by dismissing Klaasen, who contributed 46 runs. Shortly after, Rishad Hussain dismissed Miller for 29 runs. South Africa concluded their innings at 113 runs, with Tanzim and Taskin taking 3 and 2 wickets respectively for Bangladesh. In pursuit of the modest target, Tanzid Hasan started aggressively with two boundaries before falling to Kagiso Rabada.
Captain Shanto and Litton Das steadied the innings until Litton was caught by Miller off Keshav Maharaj's bowling. Bangladesh relied heavily on the experienced Shakib Al Hasan, who could only manage 3 runs before being dismissed by Enrique Nortje. Nortje also removed Shanto from the crease. Mahmudullah and Tauhid Hridoy formed a crucial 44-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Rabada dismissed Tauhid for 37 runs.
With Mahmudullah holding the key, Bangladesh required 27 runs off 24 balls after the 16th over, putting them in a favorable position. However, a controversial incident on the second ball of the 16th over changed the course of the match. On the second delivery by Otenil Baartman, Mahmudullah attempted to play a shot but ended up deflecting the ball towards the boundary off his pad.
The South African team appealed, and despite initial confusion, the umpire eventually ruled the ball dead, denying Bangladesh the opportunity to score four leg-byes. This decision sparked outrage among Bangladesh fans, who believed that the four runs could have altered the outcome of the game.
Former player and commentator Ambati Rayudu criticized the umpiring decision, stating that the ball was unlikely to hit the stumps and questioning the rationale behind dismissing Mahmudullah. Rayudu emphasized that the withheld runs due to the controversial call significantly impacted Bangladesh's chances of victory.