Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra slammed people who are accusing India of cheating in the historic one-off T20I against Japan. Japan needed eight runs to win off the last over against India, but Axar Patel was able to keep his calm, and the Men in Blue registered a thrilling two-run win.

There was wide controversy in the final over when Chris Thurgate adjudged the ball wide when Alexander Shirai-Patmore attempted a reverse sweep. When Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer protested, Thurgate decided to reverse his decision after consulting with square-leg umpire Chris Brown.

According to ICC rules, it was not a wide as Patmore was attempting a reverse sweep and thus both sides became offside, removing the strict down-the-leg-side wide rule. Furthermore, an umpire is allowed to reverse his call.

“People are saying that India beat Japan by cheating. This is being said because a wide was overturned, and the decision was reversed because India put pressure. People are just creating chaos. There are a lot of people who want to abuse India. You cannot say that we won unfairly, because it was not unfair,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“My understanding at the time was actually wrong. If you don’t hit the switch hit, if you have not swapped your hands, that means you have not become a right-handed batter from a left-handed batter. I felt that the wide line on both sides is given in favor of the bowler when a switch hit is played, not when you play a reverse sweep,” he added.

Chopra noted that it was eventually not a wide, as Patmore was trying to play a reverse sweep.

“The second complication was that, at the time of delivery, right when the bowler released the ball, did the batter change his stance or not? My initial understanding was that if the stance is not changed before the ball is bowled, then wide shall remain a wide. But my understanding was wrong. I went through the rules and listened to the umpires, and according to the new ICC rules, it does not discriminate between a switch hit and a reverse sweep,” Aakash Chopra explained.

“So, point one, they view both shots in the same way. Secondly, whether the ball is in the hand or released from the hand, it does not matter when you change your position. It will be counted as the batter having changed his position. So, the benefit of the doubt will go to the bowler. You are both a left-hander and a right-hander in the eyes of the law,” he concluded.

India’s next T20I assignment is the Asian Games.