The Jharkhand Under-19 women’s cricket team has lodged a formal complaint with the BCCI after a scoring error contributed to their narrow defeat against Uttarakhand in the pre-quarter-final of the women’s Under-19 T20 championship held in Nagpur. This unfortunate event marked Jharkhand’s first foray into the knockout rounds of this tournament.
With a target of 135 runs, Jharkhand found themselves at 127 for 7 as they embarked on the final over of the match, requiring eight runs to secure a win. Tensions escalated on the fourth ball when Lakshmi Kumari was run-out while attempting a second run. Despite completing one run before the dismissal, the scorers only noted the run-out, failing to account for the run made, thus inaccurately displaying a need for five runs off the last two balls instead of four.
The pressure intensified when Uttarakhand bowled a wide, reducing the requirement to four runs from two balls. However, another run-out ensued as Jharkhand’s batters attempted a second run, now supposedly leaving them needing three runs from the final delivery with just one wicket remaining, according to the scoreboard. In reality, the team only required two.
Ultimately, Jharkhand was unable to overcome the deficit, with a run-out on the final ball sealing their fate. Official records declared Uttarakhand victorious by one run. However, rectification of the scoring mistake would have resulted in a tie.
Reflecting on the outcome, Jharkhand’s head coach, Jaskaran Singh, expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, “This was the first time Jharkhand had qualified for the knockouts of the women’s Under-19, so the result is extremely disappointing. Had this been a league game, the situation may have been different. For players in particular, tournaments like these are extremely important.”
The team reviewed the footage from the final over to confirm the scoring misjudgment before reporting to match referee Anupa Narvekar. With the hope of preventing future occurrences, Singh added, “We hope the matter will be looked into so that we can prevent such errors again.”
Despite the setback, Jharkhand’s journey to the knockout stages remains a noteworthy achievement in the young team’s history.
