Morgan to voice concerns to ref

MUMBAI: Eoin Morgan has lashed out at the umpiring standards in England’s fiverun loss to India in a T20 international on Sunday, the captain saying his side would report their concerns to the match referee.

Chasing 145 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead, England needed eight runs from the final over but paceman Jasprit Bumrah held his nerve, conceding just two runs while claiming two wickets as India squared the three-match series.

Set batsman Joe Root was given out leg before off the first ball of the over despite edging the delivery onto his pads, and Morgan felt it changed the outcome of the game.

“There is extreme frustration, absolutely,” Morgan told reporters. “It shifted momentum, first ball of the 20th over, losing a batsman who’s faced 40 balls on a wicket that’s not that easy to time, it is quite a hammer blow. It’s proved very costly all things considered.

“A couple of decisions didn’t go our way and we still should have won the game and that’s a big positive for us. That we didn’t, is disappointing.”

Root was on 38 when he was given out by Indian umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin and with no Decision Review System (DRS) available for the series, England had no way of saving the batsman.

Much on the line

Morgan, frustrated by the same official earlier when India captain Virat Kohli survived what appeared to be a plumb lbw appeal, said England would raise the issue to match referee Andy Pycroft.

“We have an opportunity to do that before the next game, there’s always feedback given through the match referee on our report,” Morgan added.

The England captain said it was a “concern” that DRS was not used during the shortest format, though it was present for the preceding Test and 50over series.

“Even if it’s just for World Cup games you’d accept it,” he said.

“If this was a World Cup game tonight and we were out of the World Cup or lost a World Cup final we’d be spewing.

“The fact it’s not (available) is a concern. There is as much on the line as there is in a Test or a one-day match, so (there’s) no reason why it shouldn’t be used.”

England have enjoyed little success during their tour to India – they lost 4-0 in the five Test match series after drawing the first game and lost 2-1 in the ODI series that followed.

The deciding T20 international between the two nations will be played tomorrow at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore at 3.30pm – Reuters