New Delhi: A massive controversy erupted on social media after India's Deepti Sharma 'mankaded' England's Charlotte Dean for backing up too far at the non-striker's end during Indian women's cricket team vs England women's cricket team third One-Day-international (ODI) at Lords' stadium. With Dean's run-out, team India attained a historic 3-0 clean sweep over England to give legendary seamer Jhulan Goswami a fairy-tale farewell in her last international assignment.
Cricket pundits, former and present cricketers and fans shared mixed reactions on the controversial dismissal. 'Spirit of the game vs Laws of the game' debate instantly became talk of the town. For the unversed, run-out at the non-striker’s end, known as ‘Mankad’, has been legalised by the ICC.
Meanwhile, India women's cricket team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur defended Deepti Sharma by saying whatever happened on the field was within the laws. She asserted that Deepti had warned Charlotte Dean multiple times before the run-out.
"We were noting these things from last couple of games. She was taking long strikes and undue advantage, it was Deepti's awareness (that she took the bails off)," Harmanpreet Kaur was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times ahead of the Women's Asia Cup.
"It was not part of the plan but everyone was there to win the game. Whenever you are on the ground, you want to win at any cost. The most important thing is to play within the rules. Whatever we did was very much in the rules. Whatever happened, it was not part of the plan but it has happened, we need to move on," added Harmanpreet.
Earlier, after India's win over England in 3rd ODI at Lord's, Harmanpreet Kaur was asked a cheeky question by a journalist regarding the run-out during post-match presentation. The Indian skipper backed Deepti by coming up with a savage response.
“To be honest, I thought you will ask about all ten wickets, because they were not easy to take,” said Harmanpreet.“It's a part of the game. I don't think we have done something new, you can always take those chances. It shows that you are aware about what the batters are doing. I will back my player because I don't think she has done anything that isn't in the ICC rules. Everything is part of the game. At the end of the day, a win is a win and you need to enjoy that,” she further added.