Published 17:24 IST, July 14th 2019
World Cup | Ahead of final, Kumar Dharmasena makes up with Jason Roy after the umpire's blunder in semifinal got England opener's temper flaring
As the hosts look to rewrite history, one standout moment happened before both teams took to the field. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena was seen sharing a hug with the English opening batsman Jason Roy. It seems that all is now well between the two and Roy must have forgotten the past incident and decided to move on.Â
England will be aiming to win their maiden World Cup crown when they lock horns against a spirited New Zealand side in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 final at Lord's on Sunday. The hosts have reached the finals on three occasions in 1979, 1987 and 1992 respectively but ended up faltering at the final hurdle. This time, the Eoin Morgan-led side will be hoping to be fourth time-lucky and lift the coveted trophy in their own backyard.
As the hosts look to rewrite history, one standout moment happened before both teams took to the field. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena was seen sharing a hug with the English opening batsman Jason Roy. It seems that all is now well between the two and Roy must have forgotten the past incident and decided to move on.
Just in case if you are wondering what was wrong between the opening batsman and former Sri Lankan spinner, here's what had happened:
During England's semi-final triumph over their arch-rivals, Jason Roy attempted a pull shot off Pat Cummins in the 20th over of their run chase. Alex Carey took a good catch to his left and the Aussies appealed confidently. Dharmasena, who was the on-field umpire, took some time but eventually raised his finger as Jason Roy was left shell-shocked.
The South African-born cricketer was even seen arguing with the 1996 World Cup winner. The replays showed that Roy was indeed right as there was no spike on the Ultra Edge. But, since England had no review left, Roy had to walk back for a blistering 65-ball 85 as he fell short of a well-deserved ton.
International Cricket Council (ICC) had also posted a video of Roy's controversial dismissal.
To add to Roy's woes, he was also fined 30 percent of his match fee for showing dissent at the umpire's decision.
Meanwhile, England had decimated their arch-rivals and former champions Australia by eight wickets in a lopsided semi-final while the underdogs New Zealand had stunned the favourites India in the first semi-final by 18 runs.
When the two teams had faced off earlier in their group match, the hosts emerged triumphant by a huge margin of 119 runs.
Updated 18:21 IST, July 14th 2019