Mother blessed controversy-free umpiring to Ahsan Raza

It was a big moment for both on field umpires- Ahsan Raza (Pakistan) and Ms. Kim Cotton (New Zealand) to officiate first time in the final of the ICC organized mega event.

Raza is a professional umpire, whereas Kim Cotton is a female lawyer in her country.

"It was the biggest desire of my late father (Zahoor Hussain) to see his son officiate in the final of ICC mega event", Ahsan Raza's brother, Dr. Ali Raza (Ph.D. in biochemistry and assistant professor), speaking exclusveily over telephone from Pakistan, said. "Sadly, he is not alive to-day (he died in 2005) but must be watching his son from the heaven".

"On Sunday, my mother (Parveen Zahoor) woke up early in the morning for fajar prayer and prayed for the success of Ahsan. We were very much excited to see this historic moment for our family and Pakistan. We were glued in front of the TV and witnessed the entire match", the brother added.

"It has been my brother's custom to seek mother's blessing before any match. He did call to my mother in the morning. He asked the mother to pray and bless for his smooth and controversy-free umpiring in the match."

"Inshallah you will do good in this final. Stay strong and hold your nerves for the upcoming big match", mother blessed him.

Luckily, the umpire was not involved in any controversy in the match. Had there been any controversial decision going against Indian team, the fans would have not spared the Pakistani umpire.

Ahsan Raza's next assignment will be the PSL (Pakistan Super League) matches in Pakistan from March 14 onwards.