‘We expected better’, says Smriti Mandhana after umpire’s decision during India Women vs Bangladesh Women 3rd ODI

India opener Smriti Mandhana on Saturday opened up on the controversial umpiring call in the third ODI against Bangladesh that resulted in a tie, saying the umpiring could have been better, especially as the teams did not have access to DRS.

Mandhana said during a media interaction, “In some matches you are really not happy with the decisions and especially when there is no DSR. We expect better standards of umpiring. It was very clear, when our batsmen were batting there was no second thought when the ball hit the pad, there was no second thought before raising a finger. I am sure ICC, BCB and BCCI will discuss their more neutral umpiring system.”

Mandhana also came out in support of India skipper Harmanpreet, who described umpiring as ‘pathetic’ and said things happen in the heat of the day, which is part of the game.

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“I think, it was a very interesting match, very good cricket played by both the teams. Such matches are good for women’s cricket. What happened in between is an integral part of the game. When you play to win, it is at that time,” he said. “We can talk about it later, but I think, just knowing Harman as a person and knowing how much she wants to win for India, so when you really want a ‘W’ on the board for India, these things happen.

Asked if captain Harmanpreet could be fined, the Indian batsman said, “Harleen batted really well that’s why she is here. There is no reason for it (Harmanpreet not attending the press conference). We are not the ones to sit and decide on the ban, the ICC and the umpiring panel have the right to decide on that.”

When the match was tied, Mandhana said, “It’s umpires call and board call asking for super over, I don’t think there is any point in asking about super over. We would love to play super over. I don’t think the question was asked about super over. For us, but we would love to play super over.”

After a thrilling series decider at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, the two teams shared the spoils and the series ended in a draw.

With the series locked at one win each, both the teams went into the decider hoping to clinch the series.

However, both the teams could not be separated after 100 overs of hard fought and thrilling cricket. In the decider, still needing 35 runs to win and 34 runs to play from 8 overs, India were all out for 225 for 6 wickets.