A scoring error has triggered a major controversy in a Women's Under-19 cricket match between Jharkhand and Uttarakhand in Nagpur. The Jharkhand Cricket Association (JCA) has complained to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (
BCCI), alleging that a mistake by the official scorer cost the team the match and led to its exit from the tournament.
Uttarakhand scored 134/6 while batting first. Jharkhand were then bowled out for 133, according to the official scorecard, and were declared one-run losers. However, the JCA has claimed that the match should have ended in a tie because a run was not added to Jharkhand's total.
What went wrong during the match?
According to a report in The Indian Express, the controversy centres on an incident in the 30th over of Jharkhand's innings.
One of the Jharkhand batters was run out while trying to complete a second run on the fourth ball of the over. The JCA has alleged that the batters had already completed the first run, but the official scorer failed to add it to the team's total.
The scoreboard at the ground reportedly showed the updated score. However, the official scorer's records did not include the extra run.
Jharkhand thought the match had ended in a tie
The difference became crucial in the final moments of the match. Believing they needed two runs to win from the last ball, Jharkhand managed to take a single.
The players thought they had levelled the scores.
However, they were shocked when the official result showed that they had lost by one run.
According to the report, members of the Jharkhand team argued with the official scorer and requested a correction. However, the scorer did not change the decision.
Why has Jharkhand complained to the BCCI?
A Jharkhand official told The Indian Express that the missing run proved costly, as it changed both the result of the match and the team's tournament campaign.
“The scoreboard at the far end had the updated score after each ball but the main scorer forgot to add one run which cost us a tie. We requested the scorer to make the correction but he didn’t. As per the rule, umpires have to go by the scorer and not at the person doing scoring at the scoreboard,” a Jharkhand official told Indian Express.
The JCA has now taken up the matter with the BCCI, alleging that the match ended in a tie but was recorded as a one-run defeat because of the scoring mistake.