David Warner accused of 'stealing' runs in Pakistan semi-final

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has uncharacteristically sided with Pakistan and accused David Warner of 'stealing runs' during the semifinal clash between Australia and Pakistan.

The Aussie opener played a crucial 49-run knock to guide Australia to a five-wicket victory over tournament favourites Pakistan at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. 

Warner struck three sixes during his innings, which also included one off Mohammad Hafeez where the ball had bounced twice.

Hafeez, who was bowling his first over of the innings, lost the grip on the ball seemingly because of the dew which then bounced twice. After a slight pause from Warner himself, he charged down the track to smash the ball out of the park for a maximum.

Although Warner had the right to make contact with the ball, Gambhir believes that it was against the "spirit of the game" and was an outright "shameful" thing to do.

"What an absolutely pathetic display of spirit of the game by Warner! Shameful." Gambhir took it to Twitter to show his disappointment over the incident.

What an absolutely pathetic display of spirit of the game by Warner! #Shameful What say @ashwinravi99? pic.twitter.com/wVrssqOENW

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) November 11, 2021

Further elaborating on the incident, Gambhir, while in a conversation with Star Sports, said "Shane Warne and Ricky Ponting talk a lot about sportsmanship, let’s see what they have to say about this. It’s easy to criticise people but difficult when it’s your own players."

"The ball slipped from Hafeez's hand and Warner should not have done that, he stole six runs," he added.

Responding to Gambhir, Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin also chimed in and wrote on Twitter:

His point is that if this is right , that was right. If that was wrong , this is wrong too. Fair assessment? @plalor

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) November 12, 2021

Pakistan eventually went on to lose the match by five wickets as Warner fell one run short of his half-century. The Aussies will now face New Zealand in the final of the tournament.