Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman and Proteas captain Temba Bavuma have both denied that the Quinton de Kock run-out incident this past Sunday was unfair.

Zaman was running through for a second during the final over of the game when De Kock ‘falsely’ indicated that the incoming throw from the boundary was heading towards the bowler’s end.

Zaman, who was keeping the visitors in the contest at the time, slowed down as he reached De Kock’s end, only for the ball to hit the stumps directly from Aiden Markram’s fielding – with the left-hander left stranded and departing for a well-played 193.

READ: Bavuma praises Zaman’s knock

The incident sparked a huge response on social media questioning whether or not De Kock’s actions were fair but, more importantly, if it were within the rules of the game.

Speaking after the game, Zaman blamed himself for the run-out, saying it’s the officials’ job to decide if he was out or not.

‘The fault was mine as I was too busy looking out for Haris Rauf at the other end as I felt he’d started off a little late from his crease, so I thought he was in trouble. The rest is up to the match referee, but I don’t think it’s Quinton’s fault,’ Zaman explained.

Similarly, Bavuma labelled De Kock’s role in the run out as ‘clever’, highlighting the importance of Zaman’s wicket in their quest for the 17-run victory.

‘It was quite clever from Quinny. Maybe some people might criticise it for maybe not being in the spirit of the game, but it was an important wicket for us. Zaman was getting close to our target, it was clever from Quinny,’ Bavuma added.

‘You’ve always got to look for ways, especially when things are not going your way, got to find ways to turn the momentum around. Quinny did that – I don’t think he broke the rules in any kind of way. It was a clever piece of cricket.’