She had to walk back for two runs.
Cricket is a game of margins! One moment of negligence, and you could find your way back to the pavilion. That’s exactly what happened with Pakistan opener Muneeba Ali in their fixture against arch-rivals India. The left-handed batter was sent packing by a throw from Deepti Sharma, but not without some drama which unfolded on the field.
The incident occurred on the last delivery of the fourth over the innings. Kranti Goud bowled a fullish delivery to opener Muneeba Ali, who couldn’t connect the ball. The ball travelled towards the slip cordon, into the hands of Deepti Sharma. The Indian all-rounder didn’t hesitate at all to have a throw at the stumps, and did induce a direct hit.
But here’s the catch! Muneeba Ali had touched her bat inside the crease before the ball hit the stumps. However, at the point of impact, she had her bat in the air. And this is what resulted in her undoing. The third umpire ruled her out, leaving the Pakistani camp in shock.
Here’s everything you need to know about why the Pakistani opener was ruled out, despite the change in ICC rules and having her bat in the crease for a moment.
According to the recently updated laws of the game, a batter who runs into the crease with the bat grounded shall be deemed not out, even if one leaves contact with the ground after initial touch inside the crease.
To understand this, let us take an example. Say a batter runs for a single and drags the bat inside the crease. The fielder goes for a direct throw, which might hit the batter if it misses the stump. To save oneself from being hit, the batter jumps in the air, but only after making contact inside the popping crease. In such a scenario, the batter will be adjudged not out, despite the ball hitting the stumps when the batter was in the air.
However, the incident which happened with Pakistani opener Muneeba Ali was slightly different. The left-handed batter was simply standing outside the crease, when the ball hit the stumps. This is why she had to walk back despite the fact that she had touched her bat inside the crease before.
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Here’s what the MCC Rule book states about incidents like these, which can occur rarely, but have the potential to impact the outcome of the game.
30.1.1 A batter shall be considered to be out of his/her ground unless some part of his/her person or bat is grounded behind the popping crease at that end.
30.1.2 However, a batter shall not be considered to be out of his/her ground if, in running or diving towards his/her ground and beyond, and having grounded some part of his/her person or bat beyond the popping crease, there is subsequent loss of contact between the ground and any part of his/her person or bat, or between the bat and person.
Though it was interpreted by masses that the reason for her dismissal was her not running or diving, that wasn’t quite the case. In simple words, the fact that Muneeba didn’t take any action to justify that she was heading towards her ground led to her dismissal. Eventually, she ended up standing just outside the popping crease.
“Law of cricket 30.1.2. Batter shall not be considered to be out of her ground in running or diving towards her ground and beyond, and having grounded some part of her bat, the bat beyond the popping increase. There is subsequent loss of contact between the ground and any part of her person or bat, or between the that and the person. So, she wasn’t running, she wasn’t diving. And so, because of that fact there, there was no running or diving, that is the reason why she’s been given out”, said Mel Jones on air.
While 30.1.2 doesn’t explicitly mean Muneeba was out, the extension of the fact that she had to be diving or running beyond the crease, meant Muneeb was given out and had to walk back.
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