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Raajiv Tripathi
DOHA
A stich in time saves nine. And had it not been for Qatar’s cricket team manager Gul Khan Jadoon’s wise judgement, the team would not have finished as runners-up to Singapore in the just-concluded ICC T20 World Cup Asia Regional Final.
Even as the Nepal team members were being handed over the silver medals on the podium after they lost the last round-robin match to hosts Singapore by 82 runs, Jadoon had to force his way and point out the glaring calculation error on part of the organisers.
After Singapore, batting first, had amassed 191 runs for six wickets, Nepal had to make 128 to beat Qatar on the overall Net Run-Rate (NRR). However, the world-ranked 11th Nepal could manage only 109 and got all out in 15 overs.
On the basis of the win-loss record, Singapore emerged winners with seven points from three wins thus qualifying for the Global Qualifiers.
Singapore stayed undefeated in the event as they split points with Kuwait after their match was washed out.
Both Qatar and Nepal had the same number of four points with two wins and two losses each. So the NRR had to be used to break the tie. Jadoon had done his calculations and was waiting for the Nepalese team to finish their innings.
The organisers, in the meantime, made a blunder in their own calculations and they not only declared Nepal as the runners-up (though they fell too short of the required 128-run target), they even went on to hand over the medals to them.
A shocked and furious then Jadoon protested vehemently bringing to light the NRR calculations. The organisers accepted their mistake and offered an apology to the Qatar team to avoid any international embarrassment.
Tournament Director Ms Natisha then presented the silver medals to Jadoon in front of the media. The podium blunder, however, got viral on YouTube soon.
Jadoon, after his arrival in Doha on Monday, said it was his duty as the team manager to fight for the country’s pride. “We had done the entire homework when Singapore finished their batting in the last league match. We were hoping to be declared as runners-up but we were all stunned when Nepal were adjudged the second-place holders.
“The Nepalese team was presented the silver medals. But we put our foot down and literally forced them to alter their decision. Since we were right, the organisers had to take the call and do the right thing. Later, we were duly declared the runners-up and presented the medals,” he added.
“I just tried to do what was within my powers. We always strive to give our best for Qatar and make the nation proud. We wanted to finish higher of course. However, even the second place is also good for us and will motivate to work harder in future events,” Jadoon said.
The runners-up place for Qatar in the Asia Regional Final may prove lucky as Zimbabwe, which had earned a direct qualification for the Global qualifiers to be held in the UAE, have been suspended by the International Cricket Council. This means that Zimbabwe could miss the Global qualifiers if they fail to resolve the crisis in time. This situation may force the ICC to find an alternate team to replace Zimbabwe. This could possibly see second-placed Qatar figure in the event.
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31/07/2019
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