Ross Taylor imitating Hafeez's action in the 1st ODI.
New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor who top-scored with 80 runs off 112 balls to set up a match-winning total for his country invited the wrath of Pakistan players after imitating all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez's alleged 'chucking' action during his stay at the crease.
The act didn't go down well with the opposition especially its captain Sarfraz Ahmed who stormed towards the umpires explaining that the Kiwi batsman's behaviour was against the spirit of sportsmanship and that he should look to concentrate on his batting instead of focussing on the bowlers' actions.
When asked about the incident at the post-match press conference an irate Pakistan skipper said: “I will say that Taylor’s action was not correct. It’s not his job to give (the) action which was shown on TV. It was disgraceful, for me.
“His job is to do batting and if he concentrates on that, it’s better. I complained to umpires that his action did not come under sportsmanship. Ross is a professional cricketer and he should not have done that. He did it two or three times - it’s (the) umpires’ job”
Hafeez already has a chequered history regarding his bowling action which dates back to 2014 against the same opposition. Since then his action has come under scrutiny multiple times resulting in suspensions, with the latest one being lifted in April 2018.
However, Sarfraz defended his teammate's action by saying: "There is no problem with Hafeez bhai's action. His action is completely clear and I think they were trying to create an issue for no reason."
According to a Pakistani sports website, PakPassion.net Pakistan have launched an official complaint against Taylor but it's not confirmed yet.
Earlier, Taylor, who hit five fours in his 112-ball knock, looked set for a century but played on to left-arm spinner Wasim before Ish Sodhi (24) and Tim Southee (20) played little cameos and lifted New Zealand's total in the last five overs.
Sarfraz Ahmed (64) and Imad Wasim (50) shared a century-stand and gave their team a chance before New Zealand bowled them out for 219 in 47.2 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The next ODI will be played on November 9 in Abu Dhabi from 16.30 IST.
