CT Final marred by controversy

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The 36th Hero Champions Trophy Final did have its fair share of controversy, nothing more than the drama unfolded when the Indian team lodged a protest during the penalty shootout before finally settling for the runners-up medal after the jury announced that the 1-3 result against Australia would stay.

After World champions Australia were held goalless by a spirited India in 60 minutes, both teams headed for the penalty shootout.

The shootout turned out to be a controversial affair with India protesting against an infringement when Australia's Daniel Beale's attempt was allowed to go on for more than the stipulated 14 seconds. The score then was 1-0 in favour of Australia.

The tournament jury seemed to be in a fix when India filed an appeal against the video umpire's decision to re-take the second attempt in the shootout.

It took the jury multiple replays to find a way out of the embarrassing situation that kept the result pending.

After an hour and a half of the match's conclusion, the jury eventually discovered that the ball had rolled under Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh's pad for a couple of seconds. The jury then cited this as the reason why the shootout was re-taken and declared the Kookaburas as the gold medallists.          

Daily Pioneer
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