Asia Cup 2022: DRS howler as 3rd umpire wrongly gives Pathum Nissanka out

Nissanka was wrongly given out (PC: Twitter)

Controversy struck in the opening game of the Asia Cup between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan thanks to a DRS howler from the 3rd umpire.

It all happened on the last delivery of the 2nd over of Sri Lanka's innings when Pathum Nissanka was adjudged caught-behind by the on-field umpire.

Nissanka reviewed immediately and the snickometer showed minimal spike. However, the 3rd umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal had other ideas.

He decided that the minimal spike was enough to rule Nissanka out, much to the dismay of the Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka and coach Chris Silverwood and their supporters.

The decision was widely criticised by both fans as well as pundits, with commentator Roshan Abeysinghe too joining the bandwagon.

Afghanistan hammer Sri Lanka by 9 wickets in Asia Cup 2022 opener

Nissanka's dismissal was a massive body blow for the island nation, who had already been rocked by left-arm pacer Fazalullah Farooqi's double strikes in the 1st over of their innings.

Danushka Gunathilaka (17 off 17) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (38 off 29) tried to resurrect the sinking ship but once Mujeeb dismissed the latter, another fatal procession ensued.

Captain Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb rocked Lanka's middle-order while Rajapaksa and Maheesh Theekshana threw away their wickets through brainless running.

Chamika Karunaratne scored a valuable 31 off 38 to help his side get past the 100-run mark. But, it eventually proved to be futile as Hazratullah Zazai (37* off 28) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (40 off 18) helped Afghanistan hunt down the target of 106 in 10.1 overs.

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