T20 World Cup 2021: "Though it was within the rules, it should not have happened" - Harbhajan Singh on Warner hitting Hafeez for a six

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh believes that while Australian opener David Warner was well within his right to hit Mohammad Hafeez for a six off the delivery that bounced twice in front of the southpaw, he shouldn't have done it.

A major controversy erupted on Thursday night during Australia's run-chase when Hafeez lost control of the ball, which then ended up bouncing twice in front of Warner.

Warner showed great presence of mind and proceeded to smash it for a monstrous six over deep midwicket.

Social media and pundits took contrasting takes on Warner's actions. While the majority believed the southpaw did nothing wrong, the likes of Gautam Gambhir criticized the opener for not showing "Spirit of Cricket."

Speaking on the same on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan said:

"Though it was within the rules, it should not have happened (Warner hitting a six off Hafeez). It doesn't convey a good message. We have also got a similar chance in the past but we didn't do that."

Warner was eventually dismissed for a belligerent 30-ball 49 when he seemed to have nicked off to Mohammed Rizwan off Shadab Khan.

As it turned out, the snickometer confirmed that the Australian never made any contact with the ball. But since Warner didn't challenge the on-field call, it didn't matter.

However, it proved to be inconsequential in the end as Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis led Australia to an astonishing win in the penultimate over.

Harbhajan Singh lauds New Zealand and Daryll Mitchell for brilliant show against England

Meanwhile, Singh was full of praise for New Zealand and Daryll Mitchell for the manner in which they defeated a strong England side to qualify for yet another ICC event final.

Singh also went on to laud Mitchell for his "Spirit of Cricket" display when the opener refused to take a single in the 18th over after colliding with the bowler at the non-striker's end.

Singh added that the performances of Mitchell and James Neesham showed New Zealand boasts of plenty of match-winners apart from Kane Williamson.

"Well done New Zealand for beating an England side full of match-winners. What an innings by Daryll Mitchell. Well done! The way he batted was amazing. James Neesham too was outstanding. The semi-final showed that New Zealand has plenty of match-winner apart from Kane Williamson," said Singh.

"Mitchell showed great spirit of cricket as well when he refused a single in the 18th over. He went on to smash sixes in the next over when it looked like New Zealand were dead and buried, which just shows will is always better than skill. Well done to New Zealand, these kinds of games are very good for cricket. New Zealand has got a new match-winner in the form of Daryl Mitchell," he added.

The final of the T20 World Cup will take place between Australia and New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday, November 14th.