The International Cricket Council (ICC) has finally opened up on the controversial dismissal of the South African batter Rassie van der Dussen during the 26th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 against Pakistan played at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday.
Dussen was batting at 21 off 39 deliveries when Usama Mir's delivery hit his pad and after the appeal, the Proteas batter was given out by the on-field umpire. The 34-year-old wasn’t happy with the umpire’s decision and challenged it without wasting any time.
As the players were waiting for the decision, a ball-tracking came on the big screen for a second which showed impact to be “umpire's call” and the wicket to be “missing”. However, that screen was immediately taken down and a new ball tracking with “umpires call” on both impact and wickets was shown which created a controversy.
However, an ICC spokesperson talked about the incident and said that was an “erroneous" display of the graphics.
"In today's match between South Africa and Pakistan, an incomplete graphic was erroneously displayed during the LBW review of Rassie van der Dussen," an ICC spokesperson said.
"The completed graphic with the right details was ultimately displayed,” he added.
It must be noted that later in the game, another controversial decision took place which changed the outcome of the game in favour of Temba Bavuma’s men.
On the last ball of the 46th over when South Africa still needed 8, Haris Rauf's delivery pitched on a length and struck Tabraiz Shamsi on the front foot, leaving a substantial gap between the bat and the pad. The on-field gave a not-out.
Pakistan opted for a DRS referral. The ball tracking system was called into action, revealing that the impact was in line with the stumps, although the ball had pitched outside off and just grazed the leg stump. As a result, the on-field umpire's decision was upheld, allowing the batter to survive and carry South Africa to their fifth win, thanks to Keshav Maharaj's crucial contribution.