Did the wrong interpretation of the law give RCB a lucky wicket in the Eliminator clash?

Virat Kohli and Cameron Green were involved in a fantastic run-out on the first delivery of the 14th over. Green bowled a back-of-a-length delivery, and Riyan Parag pulled it towards the deep square leg region, patrolled by Virat Kohli.

Kohli, who is always electric on the field, charged towards the ball, collected and threw in one motion at a perfect pace towards the bowling end. Green, waiting for the ball to reach, broke the stumps, even though he didn’t collect the throw neatly, to find the batter slightly short of his crease.

Dhruv Jurel, the batter on the non-striker’s end, was loose during the second run and took it easy, which is unacceptable at this level, for fielders are quick in such tournaments. The margin of error reduces when the fielder is as athletic as Virat Kohli, who sets new goals for other players with his fielding efforts solely.

Also Read: ‘Time to start my own team’ – MS Dhoni’s social media post raises curiosity among fans

While the third umpire, who had already made a blunder earlier in the game, concluded that Green did his job perfectly, fans and former cricketers pointed out the exact rules. There seemed to be a misinterpretation of the rule from the third umpire, costing a vital wicket for Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Did the wrong interpretation of the law give RCB a lucky wicket?

According to the IPL playing conditions law 29.2.1.5,

“The wicket is broken fairly if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground by a fielder with his hand or arm, providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used.”

So, the rule says a fielder must have held the ball in the hands breaking the stumps or dislodging the bails. “Held” is a crucial term here because a run-out is not deemed even if the ball has any contact with the hands touching the stumps; the fielder has to hold the ball in the palm touching the sticks.

Virat Kohli 🫡#RRvRCB #IPLonJioCinema #TATAIPL #TATAIPLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/2xpGjC6YTn

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 22, 2024

Basically, the ball must be inside the fielder’s hand that touches the stumps for a fair run-out. In Green’s case, the ball was between the two wrists and definitely not into the hand that broke the stumps, which means it should have been a not-out.

Such rules are always tricky, and the wrong interpretation seemed to have gone RCB’s way. While the effort from Virat and Green was top-notch, RCB were lucky to get this wicket.

For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and YouTube.