BCB mulling over lodging complaint with Asian Cricket Council against Cheema-Mahmudullah

The Bengali Tigers are not ready to digest their defeat against the Green Shirts in the nail-biting finale of the Asia Cup 2012 , which saw them lose to Pakistan in a 237-run chase at the Shere Bangla Stadium, as the BCB is mulling over seeking review of the final-over collision between Aizaz Cheema and Mahmudullah.

Reportedly, the Bangladesh Cricket Board will be lodging a complaint with the Asian Cricket Council against a collision between Pakistani bowler Aizaz Cheema and the Bengali batsman on the crease in the final over, Mahmudullah.

Bangladesh required 9 runs off the last over, with 3 wickets in hand, as Aizaz Cheema came in to bowl. The first delivery saw the batsmen take a single and attempt to come back for another run, when Mahmudullah, running from the non-striker’s end, collided with Cheema. The Pakistani bowler apologized on the field, but the Bangladesh Cricket Board is not ready to let the incident pass.

The BCB believes that Cheema deliberately obstructed the batsman in order to prevent another run, "We have seen video footage of the incident repeatedly. It is clear that Cheema blocked Mahmudullah deliberately," a BCB official told reporters in Dhaka. "We will lodge a written appeal with the ACC very soon and will also give a copy to the ICC," he added further.

According to official rules, there are strict penalties for deliberate violations such as the one Cheema is alleged off. In the case of a member from the bowling team obstructing a batsman during running, the batsman is not given run-out and the delivery is not considered. Five penalty runs are also awarded to the batting side, alongside the run they were trying to make.

It is no surprise that the Bengalis want to complain about the incident, since they were visibly disappointed after the close defeat to Pakistan. The Tigers displayed exceptional performances throughout the tournament and rose above expectations to defeats sides like India and Sri Lanka.

Since the Pakistanis were confirmed a berth in the finals, the Bangladesh team had to defeat the Lankan Lions in order to book a spot opposite the Green Shirts. Despite restricting the Pakistan side to a 236-run total, and then coming up with imposing performances in the form of Tamim Iqbal (60) and Shakib Al Hasan (68), the Bengalis lost by 2 runs as the Misbah-led Men in Green took the title of the best side in Asia.