Several strange incidents have made headlines in cricket lately - from a bowler’s father grabbing a catch in the crowd (off his son's bowling) in the BBL to a chasing team's coach forcing the opposition captain to withdraw a run-out appeal, already given out. During the ongoing ILT20 season, this incident divided fans over what happened on the field.

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On Saturday in the ILT20, MI Emirates captain Nicholas Pooran withdrew a run-out appeal involving Gulf Giants bowling all-rounder Tom Curran. The incident unfolded on the last ball of the 18th over when Curran played a drive (to deep long-on) off Alzarri Joseph. Pollard collected the ball and threw it at the keeper’s end, with Pooran receiving it and dislodging the bails as Curran was out of his crease.

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Pooran appealed for the run-out, with the standing umpires walking towards him before referring the call to the fourth umpire for the final decision. Upon checking it several times, Curran was clearly out of his crease (before Pooran even collected the ball), and despite him nodding the bat inside it, the fourth umpire adjudged him out.

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As he walked towards the dugout, Curran's team's coach, Andy Flower, came near the boundary line, urging the umpire and the opposition captain (Pooran) to withdraw the appeal, which, after much deliberation, he did, wearing a disappointing look on his face. 

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“I think he (Pooran) has a very good reason for this to be given out. He was upset, and rightly so. He looked out from here,” commentator Alan Wilkins said on air while calling out the whole episode. “I honestly think Nicholas Puran is fully justified in appealing for this.”

Former cricket legend Wasim Akram shared similar thoughts, saying, “Yeah, he’s out of the crease. What was he doing? What was he thinking? The ball wasn’t even dead.”

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Meanwhile, at that time, the game was hanging in the balance, with Giants needing 18 off 13 balls and four wickets remaining. After this strange episode, with Curran back to the crease, the Giants won the match on the final ball of the 20th over. 

Why Pooran withdrew the call?

Pooran explained why he withdrew his run-out call in the post-match presentation.

“It was about the Spirit of the Game. By the laws, he was out, yes. However, the batter seemed to have heard the call for the over, but I certainly didn’t, which is why I appealed,” Pooran said after the game. 

(With inputs from agencies)