T20 World Cup India vs Pakistan: Shan Masood’s lucky escape reignites debate over spider use | Cricket News

MELBOURNE: Shan Masood had a lot of luck on his way to a fighting half-century at the MCG, and on one such occasion the Pakistani batsman was saved by the spider camera hover over the playing field.
After Virat Kohli missed a regulation run-out chance to bowl Masood, the southpaw was caught in the deep by Ashwin, but replays showed the ball bounced before the Indian spinner got it into his palms.
He got another life in a bizarre way when Masood, who was bowled through the air by Ashwin, took a big hit and the ball collided with the cable holding the spider. It could have been an easy catch in the deep for Kohli had the ball not changed direction after making contact with the cable.
The incident reignited the debate over the use of spider cameras, which have been used in cricket for more than 10 years. It was first used in the rebel Indian Cricket League in 2007 before being used in the 2010 Indian Premier League.
The technology is also regularly used in ICC events.

The match’s followers on social media were quick to comment on the incident which took place during a high-pressure clash on Sunday with India winning it in the last ball.
“Just realised, how lucky Shan Masood was yesterday. Survived a run out, if the catch miscalculated, spider cam came to his service. Damn lucky!!” tweeted a fan.
For some of the followers it was divine intervention.
“It’s not the Spidercam, it was the Qudrat ka Nizam that saved Shan Masood there,” wrote another Twitter user.
In a nutshell, spidercam is a cable suspended camera system that allows cameras to move both vertically and horizontally across playing field.

Masood finished with 52 off 42 balls which ensured Pakistan posted a fighting total after a shaky start.
The technology has been questioned many times in the past, including an India-Australia Test in the 2014-2015 series. Australian captain Steve Smith missed a catch because a camera cable allegedly came into his line of sight.
Last over waist-high no ball also divides opinion
India needed 16 off the final over to pull off a famous win over Pakistan on Sunday. In the 20th over, left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz crumbled under pressure and bowled a no-ball that sent Kohli for a six, tilting the game in India’s favour.
Kohli was within his rights to look at a no-ball and umpire Marais Erasmus took a while to decide that it was a mid-on full toss, sending the Pakistanis into panic mode.

Pakistani fans predictably thought their team had got the stick.
“Kohl did nothing wrong by checking with the umpires, but the on-field officials should have checked the height with the third umpire. That’s what technology is there for. You can use it when in doubt,” the Pakistani legend Wasim Akram told A. Sport.