Explained: Why Afghanistan U19 Were Denied a Boundary Against India U19?

The youth teams of India and Afghanistan are facing each other in the second semi-final of the ongoing ICC U19 World Cup. Afghanistan U19 captain Mahboob Khan won the toss and opted to bat first at the Harare Sports Club, one of the best cricket stadiums in the world.

The reason behind Afghanistan opting to bat first was pretty clear, as the surface seemed to favour the batters heavily. Meanwhile, a moment got everyone's attention during the first innings when the Afghanistan team were denied a boundary during the 17th over of the IND U19 vs AFG U19 match.

Why AFG U19 were Denied Boundary Against IND U19?

On the sixth ball of the 17th over during the IND U19 vs AFG U19 semi-final, Deepesh Devendran bowled a delivery that stayed low, passing just outside off and beating the batter Faisal Shinozada. When it reached the wicket-keeper Abhigyan Kundu, he couldn’t collect it cleanly. The ball slipped through after a deflection from the helmet placed just behind Kundu and went on towards the rope.

Later, the umpire had already called it a ‘dead ball,' meaning that the play had been stopped. Once a dead ball has been signalled, any runs (including boundaries) scored off that delivery do not count. However, the umpire still ended up signalling it a four.

Even the on-air commentators mentioned that he might have to retract his call since it's a dead ball. The IND U19 vs AFG U19 penalty runs can create a vital difference in the end as it is expected to get closer.

Afghanistan Put up Huge Total in 1st Innings

During the IND vs AFG U19 World Cup semi-final, Afghanistan's decision to bat first after winning the toss went in their favour as they ended up scoring 310 runs. Openers Osman Sadat and Khalid Ahmadzai provided a great start to the team, stitching a 53-run stand for the first wicket. After the departure of both the openers, the Indian team thought that they would put more pressure on the opponents.

However, Faisal Shinozada and Uzairullah Niazai had other ideas as they batted positively, building a 148-run stand for the third wicket. Shinozada departed after scoring 110 runs while Uzairullah Niazai remained unbeaten on 101 runs.

The Indian bowlers managed to take only four wickets in the innings, with Deepesh Devendran and Kanishk Chouhan picking up two wickets each. The Boys in Blue missed out on multiple run-out opportunities, which helped the Afghanistan team put up a huge total in the IND vs AFG U19 World Cup semi final.