Virat Kohli’s wrong LBW decision: RCB Twitter handle tweets MCC law to point out error by third umpire

A contentiously LBW call involving Virat Kohli in Saturday (April 9) night’s IPL 2022 encounter against the Mumbai Indians (MI) got even his team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) reacting in displeasure and pointing to the MCC laws. 

Batting on 48 at the time near the victory post, the RCB batting great was given out LBW by the on-field umpire off the bowling of MI’s part-time spin option Dewald Brevis. 

Moments later, Kohli was seen livid about that decision and walked off the ground in deep anguish and anger. The modern-day legend’s displeasure was down to him thinking he had nicked the ball onto his pads. A batter can’t be given out LBW if the ball makes contact with the bat before touching the pads. 

In a close-in replay, one could see that Virat Kohli had his bat adjacent to the front pad while defending Brevis’ ball on the frontfoot. Despite the element of doubt involved, the on-field umpire KN Anantha Padmanabhan signalled out, a call which was later upheld by third-umpire Ulhas Gandhe following a DRS intervention from Kohli. 

RCB franchise reacts to controversial Virat Kohli LBW call 

The decision gave against Virat Kohli triggered debates all over the IPL fandom, with many fans thinking their favourite cricketer has been let down by the match officials given the doubt involved. 

Similarly, the RCB franchise reacted to the dismissal and pointed out an important law in cricket’s rule book. 

Watch: Virat Kohli almost swings bat in frustration at stumps after being bowled in RCB nets

According to law 36.2 of the MCC rule book pertaining to the LBWs, if the ball makes contact with the striker’s pad and the bat simultaneously, the point of contact considered before making the decision will be ‘bat first’. 

Given this rule, the RCB expected the TV umpire going through the review to reverse the on-field call. 

The franchise made a tweet expressing its displeasure, stating the rules as they are and called Virat Kohli “unfortunate” to have been at the receiving end of that decision. 

We were just reading through the MCC Laws of Cricket for LBW decisions, and here’s what we found. 🤔🤭

Unfortunate that Virat Kohli had to walk back disappointed after a brilliant knock.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 #Mission2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/fSEj1CaKOW

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) April 10, 2022

To understand why the third umpire upheld the on-field umpire’s call, one needs to think from the third umpire’s perspective. While the rule states that an LBW call made for the ball contacting the pad and the bat simultaneously should not be considered, the third umpire presumably never had that doubt and for him, the ball clearly made contact with the pad before the bat. 

What didn’t help Kohli’s case is his longstanding and notorious way of defending balls on the frontfoot against spin with his bat face slightly opened towards the off-side. In this instance, Kohli was defending Brevis’ googly towards covers rather than mid-off or if possible, in line with the bowler. 

That perhaps made the on-field umpire and his TV partner convinced that the ball made contact with the pad just before it touched the bat.