Heather Knight and England squeezed past Bangladesh by four wickets in Guwahati, yet much of the post-match chat revolved around one low catch that wasn’t. The captain, back after a hamstring lay-off, was on 13 when Shorna Akter dived forward at cover in the 15th over and seemed to scoop the ball cleanly. Knight began to walk, but on-field umpires sent it upstairs and third umpire Gayathri Venugopalan ruled “not out”, judging Shorna’s fingers had not been under the ball.
“At first look, I thought it was out,” Knight admitted later. “I thought it carried and thought it was a fair catch and walked off. But the TV umpire decided otherwise. I certainly had a bit of luck today. But probably with the year I have had, I deserved a little bit of luck. I tried to ride it and really make it count.”
Knight did just that, finishing 79 not out from 111 deliveries and sealing the chase of 179 with 23 balls to spare. Her innings, though, contained two more escapes. First ball, a review overturned a caught-behind decision when replays showed Marufa Akter’s inswinger brushed Knight’s pad, not her bat, outside the line of off stump. Six overs later ball-tracking proved another lbw call would have cleared the stumps.
“It was the first time I was out three times in an innings and had them overturned, that’s for sure,” Knight said. “It was a case of refocusing. I knew I didn’t hit the ball and it was tricky conditions as well. It was swinging quite a lot, [which] can make it tricky for the umpires as well. But that’s the joy of DRS, isn’t it? It’s great to have that in place.”
Bangladesh leg-spinner Fahima Khatun, whose figures of 3 for 16 set up the tight finish, was less upbeat: “It was a disappointing decision for us. Every player in our team felt it was a clear dismissal. The decision was overturned after being given out, which was disappointing. We all know how crucial that wicket was. Had the call gone our way, there was every chance the outcome of the match could have been different.”
From a neutral angle, the replay looked inconclusive – the ball appeared to dip fractionally at the last moment, making Shorna’s fingers, and therefore the soft signal, pivotal. Venugopalan sided with the batter, and under current protocols the third umpire needs conclusive proof to overturn. England’s relief was plain; Bangladesh’s frustration, equally understandable.
Beyond the controversy, the match offered encouraging signs for both sides. Knight’s tempo, anchoring yet assertive, suggested her hamstring trouble is behind her. For Bangladesh, Fahima found sharp turn and drift, Marufa swung the new ball late, and their fielders saved at least 15 runs with diving stops – useful positives in a long tournament.
England, now two wins from two, move on to Pune with momentum but aware their top order looked shaky against quality spin. Bangladesh, winless so far, at least know they took the defending champions the distance. They may also feel, with some justification, that a single camera angle made the difference.
