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Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has made a revelation about the 1999 Test between India and Pakistan in Chennai, stating that the dismissal of Sourav Ganguly was doubtful.
While speaking on Ravichandra Ashwin’s YouTube show ‘DRS with Ash’, Inzamam admitted that the catch taken by wicketkeeper Moin Khan in the second innings of the Chennai Test was uncertain. Later, the Wasim Akram-led Pakistan won the contest by 12 runs.
Recalling the famous incident, Ashwin asked Inzamam to tell the truth whether the catch of Ganguly was clean or not. He asked: “In the Chennai match there was an incident. Sourav Ganguly hit a drive, and the ball went to silly-point where perhaps Moin Khan claimed a catch. Till date, we do not know if that was out or not out because the cameras were not that good those days. So you, please tell us if that was out or not?”
The veteran Pakistan cricketer responded to the question and said that he was not on the ground when the episode took place. However, Inzamam did mention that the catch looked doubtful to him.
“I will tell you. There were two people involved in the affair, one Azhar Mahmood and the other, Moin Khan. When Sourav played the shot, I think it hit Azhar Mahmood first on his body, and then Moin Khan caught it,” said Inzamam.
“So, I cannot clearly tell you about it because Azhar was not playing that Test match. I was unwell in the second innings so in my place Azhar was in the ground as the substitute. I was not on the field at that time, but I can say that the catch was a doubtful one,” he added.
Ashwin lauded Inzamam for the honest reply
After Inzy’s response, Ashwin could not stop laughing and appreciated the Multan-born for answering honestly.
“Inzy bhai, I have to salute you now because you admitted that it was indeed a doubtful catch. Because I remember I was a small kid at that time and crowds were all shouting ‘Umpire down down’,” said Ashwin.
Coming back to the dismissal, the replays of that ball bowled by Saqlain Mushtaq showed that the white leather had bounced off the ground after hitting Mahmood’s leg before Moin went forward and grabbed the catch.
The on-field umpires got together for a while and discussed the matter after Pakistan’s appeal. Later, they declared Ganguly out.
