'At first look, I thought it was out' - Knight on the catching reprieve

Third umpire Gayathri Venugopalan's decision to reprieve Heather Knight against Bangladesh came under the scanner after England escaped to a four-wicket win in the Women's World Cup 2025 match in Guwahati.

In the 15th over of England's chase of 179, Knight chipped legspinner Fahima Khatun towards cover, where Shorna Akter dived to her right and seemed to have taken a low catch. Knight started walking, but the on-field umpires referred it to the TV umpire, who felt that the fielder did not have her fingers under the ball and ruled it not out. Knight was on 13 at that point. She went on to finish unbeaten on 79 off 111 balls, taking her side home with 23 balls to spare.

"At first look, I thought it was out," Knight said after the match. "I thought it carried and thought it was a fair catch and walked off. But the TV umpire decided otherwise. I certainly had a bit of luck today. But probably with the year I have had, I deserved a little bit of luck. I tried to ride it and really make it count."

Fahima, who finished with 3 for 16 from her ten overs, felt that the decision might have affected the final result.

"It was a disappointing decision for us," she said. "Every player in our team felt it was a clear dismissal. The decision was overturned after being given out, which was disappointing. We all know how crucial that wicket was. Had the call gone our way, there was every chance the outcome of the match could have been different."

This was one of the three reprieves for Knight, who was batting for the first time in international cricket since her return from a hamstring injury. She was ruled out caught behind on the first ball she faced. But a review saved her, after replays showed that Marufa Akter's inswinging delivery had missed her inside edge and brushed the front pad instead. The impact, as it turned out to be, was well outside the line of off too. Then, in the seventh over, she was given lbw but used the DRS successfully once again. Ball-tracking showed that this time, the ball would have bounced over the stumps.

"It was the first time I was out three times in an innings and had them overturned, that's for sure," Knight said. "It was a case of refocusing. I knew I didn't hit the ball and it was tricky conditions as well. It was swinging quite a lot, [which] can make it tricky for the umpires as well. But that's the joy of DRS, isn't it? It's great to have that in place."