TOP 10 Controversies of World Cup 2019

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World Cup 2019: Bangladesh stun South Africa to start the tournament on a winning note

Bangladesh defeated South Africa comprehensively

Bangladesh began their World Cup tournament defeating South Africa by 21 runs at the Oval, London on Sunday. Contributions from Soumya Sarkar, Rahim, Shakib al Hasan, Mahmudllah helped them to post a big total and the bowlers defended the target with ease.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and decided to field first. Bangladeshi openers Tamim Iqbal and Sarkar got off to a rollicking start, putting pressure on the South African bowling line up. Andile Phehlukwayo got the breakthrough by dismissing Tamim Iqbal for 16. Tamim and Sarkar had added 60 runs for the first wicket in just 8.2 overs.

At the end of 10 overs, Bangladesh scored 65 for 1. After the power play overs, Chris Morris dismissed the other opener Sarkar for 42. Then the experienced pair of Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim played with positive intent and did not allow the South African bowlers to create pressure, taking singles and hitting boundaries.

Shakib reached his fifty off 54 balls and then Rahim reached his fifty too off 52 balls. As things were looking dangerous for South Africa, the veteran Imran Tahir got the breakthrough by dismissing Shakib for 75. Shakib and Rahim added 142 runs for the 3rd wicket. Mohammad Mithun then came to the crease and hit run a ball 21.

Phehlukwayo dismissed the dangerous Rahim for 78. Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain showed their class with attacking stroke play adding 66 runs for the 6th wicket. Mahmudullah remained not out on 46 off 33 balls. Bangladesh had posted 330 for 6 in 50 overs. For South Africa, Phehlukwayo, Morris and Tahir took 2 wickets each.

Chasing the target of 331 runs to win, South African openers Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram got off to a steady start adding 49 runs for the opening wicket. A miscommunication ended de Kock innings for 23. At the end of 10 overs, South Africa scored 51 for 1.

After the power play overs, the Bangladeshi bowlers kept a tight line and length, not allowing much room to Markram and South African captain du Plessis. Despite their bowlers not giving runs, du Plessis and Markram played with positive intent. Just when they were looking set at the crease, Shakib then got the breakthrough, dismissing Markram for 45. Markram and du Plessis added 53 runs for the 2nd wicket.

David Miller came to the crease and took time to settle. Du Plessis took the charge with attacking stroke play and reached his fifty off 45 balls. As things were looking good for South Africa, Mehidy Miraz Hasan dented the innings by dismissing Faf for 62.

Miller and Rassie van der Dussen played some attacking strokes to put the pressure back on the Bangladeshi bowlers. Again, when things looked dangerous for Bangladesh, Mustafizur Rahman dismissed Miller for 38. Van der Dussen took the charge from there andplayed with confidence while JP Duminy too played some lovely strokes. Mohammad Saifuddin then got wicket van der Dussen for 41.

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There have already been five occasions in the ongoing World Cup where the bails have not come off, despite being hit by the ball. The reason cited has been the heavy weight caused due to wires and lights that are put into the bails.

Bails Not Falling Off


Australian skipper Aaron Finch fumed over the LED bails not falling off even after being hit and called it unfair. Speaking at the post-match press conference after his team defeated Australia by 36 runs at the Oval on Sunday, Virat Kohli also reiterated his Aussie counterpart’s narrative and said this kind of thing should not be happening in international cricket.

Aaron Finch, who was outright about his statement, said, “It’s a bit unfair at times, isn’t it! And I know David hit the stumps pretty hard.” Finch continued with his apprehensions, “It does seem to be happening more and more, which is unfortunate because you’d hate to see something like that happen in a World Cup final or a semifinal. You’ve done the hard work as a bowler or a fielding side to set a player up or get the mistake and it not be rewarded.”

There have already been five occasions in the ongoing World Cup where the bails have not come off, despite being hit by the ball. The reason cited has been the increased weight of the bails caused due to wires and lights that are put into them.

Asked what he feels about it, the Indian skipper said, “I think with the technology it’s great. The lights come on and you know it’s very precise when you actually make something happen with the stumps. But you literally have to smash the stumps really hard, and I’m saying that as a batsman.

Laughing, Kohli went on, “If I see something happening like that, I’d be very surprised, also. And these are fast bowlers. These are not your medium-paced bowlers. I don’t know, and MS (Dhoni) said we checked the stump hole, as well. The stump was not in very hard, it was actually loose. So I don’t know what’s actually wrong with the stump, the outer coating of the stump.”

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Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of World Cup for 3 weeks due to thumb injury

India v Australia - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

What's the story?

Indian opener, Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup because of the thumb injury that he sustained in the match against Australia. His fractured thumb will keep Dhawan out of action for the next 3 weeks.

The background @ Full Video - What happened to Shikhar Dhawan in the India v Australia match? | World

Shikhar Dhawan is known to have an excellent record in ICC tournaments. He had won the Golden Bat award in Champions Trophy 2013. The left-handed opener also played a huge role in India's success at the 2015 Cricket World Cup and Champions Trophy 2017. The fans had high expectations from him and Gabbar did not disappoint them as he scored a match-winning century versus Australia on Sunday. However, he had injured his thumb in the same match.

The heart of the matter

Dhawan had undergone a scan on Monday and the reports of the scan revealed that the left-hander has suffered a fracture on his thumb.

Since his thumb will take 3 weeks time to heal, he will not be able to play India's upcoming World Cup games against New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, West Indies and England. This could force the Indian team to replace Dhawan in the squad.
KL Rahul can open the innings for India in case they do not decide to name a replacement for Dhawan. Rahul has good experience of playing in English conditions and he has looked in good form this year.

In case the team wants to continue KL Rahul as a middle-order batsman, they will have to pick a new opening partner for Rohit Sharma. According to India Today, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are the front-runners to replace Shikhar Dhawan in the World Cup squad.

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World Cup 2019: Update on Rashid Khan's head injury

Rashid Khan was hit on the head during Afghanistan's encounter against New Zealand

What's the story?

Afghanistan has not had luck by their side in the Cricket World Cup 2019 with respect to injuries and consecutive losses. The nation’s star player, Rashid Khan was hit on the head during his team’s clash against the Black Caps on 8 June. But, now we have learnt that Rashid Khan is fine and has passed the concussion test.

In case you didn't know...

After losing the first 2 games, Afghanistan met the mighty New Zealand side in their 3rd match which was played on 8th June. The side did not have a good outing with the bat as they scored only 172 runs on the board. The target was too small for the star-studded batting line-up of New Zealand.


But, in Afghanistan’s innings, Rashid Khan got injured after taking a huge blow on his head while trying to duck Lockie Ferguson’s bouncer. The cricketer left the field as it was a major injury scare for the side. Rashid Khan did not bowl even a single over in the 2nd innings as he watched the match from the dressing room.

The heart of the matter

The injury seemed to be quite serious as Rashid immediately went out to take the help of the medical team. But the injury is thankfully not as serious as it was made out to be as Rashid Khan has passed the concussion protocols test conducted by ICC. Their skipper, Gulbadin Naib also revealed, “He’s feeling better now. The doctor said don’t go to the field but now he’s feeling well. So he needed rest. So obviously we have a couple of days. He’s fine now,”

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Did ICC mess up the World Cup 2019 schedule?

Covers are laid out at Bristol, the venue of the World Cup game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Another day, another washout. The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is fast becoming a rain-soaked tale of frustration as for the second day in a row, not a single ball was bowled before the umpires called off play in Bristol where Bangladesh were set to take on Sri Lanka in an intriguing all-Asian clash. Such a shame for the premier tournament of world cricket!
Already three matches have been abandoned due to England experiencing an unusually wet June and teams such as South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (with two abandoned matches), have legitimate reasons to be despondent because of the fickleness of the weather.


It is a veritable disaster in many ways, both for the image of the game and the financial aspect of it. It is a big disaster cricket-wise as well. For example, it will be a big setback for the tournament if the talented young guns of West Indies lose out on a semi-final berth because of their washout against South Africa. The passionate fans, many of whom have traveled vast distances to be here, were left frustrated again as they have been treated to some delectable cricket in the games that have managed to take place.

Wrong period?

Apparently, this is an unusually wet June month for the UK and so the ICC might not technically be blamed for holding the tournament now. It is true that all the other four World Cups held in England had taken place in June or May-June, but eyebrows need to be raised because of the extended nature of the tournament where the business end will carry it into July, historically, one of the wettest months in England.
If the rain gods inflict more damage and the big games towards the end also bear the brunt of the elements, then the ICC's gamble to extend the tournament into July might turn into a disaster.

Alternative options

Well, the 2011 World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh was held from 19 February to 2 April. The English domestic season begins at the end of March or early April, so technically, a World Cup could have been played during that period. March is one of the drier months in the islands. Another option would have been to begin it in May and end in the first half of June to avoid a wet July; all of which were not considered by the ICC.

IPL to blame?

Was the decision to begin the Cup late influenced by a need to accommodate the Indian Premier League? One can only conjecture. However, the ICC should certainly have been more careful in their schedule, especially with it heading into mid-July for the knockout games. With June, the traditional World Cup month proving this wet, one can only hope July doesn't live up to its traditional tag. The game itself will be the loser otherwise.