Fahima frustrated over controversial decision by Indian umpire

Despite coming close to victory in the Women’s World Cup, Bangladesh’s hopes were dashed by controversial umpiring and Heather Knight’s resolute batting. Nigar Sultana Jyoti’s side kept England under pressure but eventually lost by 4 wickets. The most talked-about moment of the match was Knight’s disputed ‘not out’ decision, which sparked widespread debate.

After Knight offered a catch at zero, Nigar Sultana appealed to the umpire. However, due to insufficient evidence, the third umpire overturned the decision, and Knight survived. Later, when Knight was on 13, Swarna Akter managed to catch her, but after reviewing the TV replay, Indian umpire Gayatri Venugopalan still did not give her out. After the match, Knight herself admitted that she had thought she was dismissed at that moment.

After the match, Fahima expressed her frustration over the decision. Speaking at the post-match press conference, she said, “We were certain she was out, and we appealed accordingly. It was disappointing when the decision didn’t go our way. Knight’s wicket was crucial—if she had been dismissed, the course of the game could have been very different.”

Despite the team loss, Fahima was economical with the ball, delivering 48 dot balls out of 60. Regarding their bowling strategy, she added, “Our main goal was to maintain control over every delivery. We wanted to keep the ball outside the wicket whenever possible. Following this plan, we managed to create as much pressure as we could with our bowling.”