KARACHI: Australia’s seasoned umpire Simon Taufel finally opened up on the no-ball controversy that left the fans and experts baffled amid the final over of the heart-stopping T20 World Cup fixture between arch-rivals India and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23.

The controversy erupted in the final over of the high-octane clash. The ball deflected after hitting the stumps as Indian batter Virat Kohli was bowled on a free hit. Dinesh Karthik and Kohli then added three runs to their total.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and his teammates were unhappy with the umpires’ bye signals and asked if the ball was dead.

The dead ball debate from the game continued to be discussed after The Men in Blue had prevailed. In response to the event, Taufel stated that the umpires made the correct decision by signalling a bye.

“After the exciting climax to the India v Pakistan match at the MCG last night, I’ve been asked by many to explain the Byes that India scored after Kohli was bowled off the free hit,” Taufel wrote on Linkedin.

“The umpire made the right decision in signalling byes after the batters ran three following the ball hitting the stumps and rolling down to 3rd man. For a free hit, the striker cannot be out bowled, and therefore, the ball is not dead on hitting the stumps — the ball is still in play, and all conditions under the Laws for Byes are satisfied,” he added.