'Focus on cricket': Smriti Mandhana schools Harmanpreet's critics questioning her ethics

The Indian women's cricket team locked horns against Bangladesh women in the third ODI of their three-match series on Saturday. The match ended in a draw after both teams finished on an identical score of 225. The match was marred by a controversy following a contentious decision that saw Harmanpreet Kaur get dismissed for 14 off 21 balls. The Indian skipper criticised the level of umpiring in the match and was even seen showing frustration when she was given out.  

3 things you need to know

• Harmanpreet Kaur broke the stumps after being given lef-before by the umpire
• In her post-match press conference, Kaur called the umpiring 'low-level'
• Smriti Mandhana has now given her take on the incident, defending Kaur

Also Read: WATCH: Disappointed Harmanpreet Kaur Vents Out Her Frustration On Match Officials

Smriti Mandhana justifies Harmanpreet's show of anger

Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana expressed her concerns about the performance of Bangladeshi umpires Muhammad Kamruzzaman and Tanvir Ahmed, albeit in a more restrained manner compared to her captain Harmanpreet Kaur. Harmanpreet Kaur's dismissal added fuel to the fire when she was given out leg-before off a Nahida Akter delivery while attempting a sweep shot. Kaur strongly believed that the ball had made contact with her bat before hitting the pads.

Displaying her frustration, she even broke the stumps and expressed her discontent with the umpiring quality during the post-match presentation, referring to it as "low-level." On the other hand, Smriti Mandhana, the Indian vice-captain, conveyed her criticism more calmly, refraining from going ballistic like her teammate. 

"In any match, sometimes it happens that you are not really happy with the kind of… especially when there is no DRS in the series this time," Mandhana said.

"We expect a little better level — I would term it in a better way that, better level of umpiring in terms of some decisions, because it was very evident in some decisions, there was not even a second thought given if the ball hit the pad. Not even one-second thought was given and the finger went up," she added.

"I am sure that ICC, the BCB and the BCCI will definitely have a discussion on that, maybe we have a neutral umpiring system so that we do not sit here having this discussion, maybe we can focus on cricket and cricket-oriented questions," she said.

Also Read: Harmanpreet Kaur-led India Women Tie Third ODI With Bangladesh, Series Ends In Draw

INDW vs BANW ODI series ends in a draw

With the series ending in a 1-1 draw, the WODI encounter between India and Bangladesh will be remembered for the intense competition and the umpiring controversies that surrounded it. Earlier the two sides played a three-match T20I series that India women won 2-1. 

Image: BCB