Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Australian skipper Aaron Finch condemned the unfair advantage some batsmen are getting due to the 'zing' bails at the ICC 2019 Cricket World Cup. India faced Australia in a much-awaited clash in the tournament on June 9 at the Oval, in London. The incident with the bails happened during Australia's run-chase.
India set a massive target of 353 for Australia to chase in 50 overs in the second half of the game. In the second over of the run-chase, Australian opener David Warner played a delivery of Jasprit Bumrah which after hitting his bat and his boot crashed into the stumps. But the Indian players were stunned to see that the bails did not fall off and Warner went on to score 56 runs. This was not the first incident of this kind that happened with the bails in the tournament. The same thing has happened five times already in this year's edition.
Indian captain Virat Kohli expressed concern over the incident after the match, saying, "This is not something that you expect at international level. Technology is great but if you have to smash the stumps to get a wicket it's not right. These are fast bowlers and the ball hit the stump quite hard but the bails did not fall."
He added, "If you bowl a good ball to get someone out and if the batsman still survives then what is the point? This may hamper the tournament."
Australian captain Aaron Finch also voiced his feelings on the incident. He said, "Today, we were lucky that it went on our side, but the other day we can be on the receiving side as well. This needs to be fixed otherwise it can hamper important and crucial matches in the tournament."
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has defended the zing bails stating that they are much more lighter than the wooden bails.
The cricket world reacted to the incident quite harshly, former English cricketer Nasser Hussain asked ICC to take immediate action to save the tournament from getting hampered and Michael Vaughan made fun of the incident.
Nice era to Bat when you can't get bowled !!!!! These stumps/Zinger bail combination have to be changed ..... #CWC2019
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 9, 2019
This can't keep happening with the bails !!! Hard enough being a bowler nowadays .. needs changing
— Nasser Hussain (@nassercricket) June 9, 2019
India defeated Australia in their second match of the tournament by 36 runs. Next, they are going to face New Zealand on June 13.
