Cricket umpiring disputes are nothing new. To the IPL, for sure not. Many situations from over the years spring to memory. Whether it was MS Dhoni storming onto the pitch for what was once again a no-ball incident that was called and then not called, or the last-ball no-ball that went unnoticed in the MI-RCB match all those years ago. Or Rishabh Pant’s promise to summon his hitters back for, you guessed it, a called no-ball.
This year, RR was the target of the DC-RR confrontation that resulted from the Pant incident from the previous year. The evening ended with a defeat for the visitors in Delhi and a Code of Conduct violation that cost their captain, Sanju Samson, thirty percent of his match pay.
Samson had placed RR in cruise control with his explosive innings as they chased a challenging target of 222. RR were 159/3 after 15 overs, having lost the first three overs for 46 runs. We had no idea that the 16th over would result in the highest level of drama.
With the exception of a dot ball, Mukesh Kumar’s over began precisely for DC, allowing just two singles and a wide. It implied that Samson needed to make the big play to get back on track. Mukesh chose to play a slower ball into the pitch, which Samson saw coming as he went straight down the ground flat-batted but lacked the perfect connection.
Samson sensed trouble was building with Shai Hope put at long-on as soon as he hit it. The flat hit flew very rapidly to the West Indian who caught it and, somehow, managed to keep his feet from hitting the boundary cushions even with the force of the ball. In the moment, Hope appeared to have done just enough to give his team a chance at a potentially game-winning grab. A few more replays seemed to support this theory as well, but a third angle seemed to be sceptical of the veracity of the catch. But the third umpire quickly ruled Samson out after appearing persuaded by the first two replays.
The RR skipper made a U-turn and returned for a confrontation with the umpires, despite appearing dissatisfied with the speed at which decisions were made. The situation had become heated in the centre, and the outrageous reactions of the DC owners—who were indicating for Samson to leave—added even more spiciness. Eventually, despite everything, rationality won out, and Samson returned to the dugout, obviously unhappy with the way things had gone.
The argument about whether Hope made a clean catch or not has already erupted into a furor on social media and beyond among cricket fans.
Director of Cricket and head coach of the Royals, Kumar Sangakkara, took a conventionally courteous stance when voicing his opinions. But the legendary player from Sri Lanka refused to attribute the loss to this dispute.
“Depending on the replays and perspectives, you might believe that the foot has been touched at times. However, it’s a challenging call for the third umpire to make. That’s what happens in cricket; the game was at a critical point. Although there are differences in our opinions, you have to respect the third umpire’s decision as it was made by the umpires. We’ll discuss it with the umpires and work things out if we have any other opinions. Despite the dismissal, I believed Delhi played quite well, but we still should have definitely taken that game home. They persevered till the very end, and their backend bowling was rather cunning.”
It makes sense that there was a significant difference in the opposite camp’s sentiment and viewpoint. Pravin Amre, the assistant coach for DC, supported Shai Hope and seemed optimistic about the legality of the capture.
Certain momentums are particularly important in (the) IPL. In our game, this was a crucial turn of events. Sanju was hitting so nicely, in my opinion. To be really honest, we have to give Hope credit for her ability to evaluate that catch. In addition, umpires are present, and technology is abound. The third umpire made the decision. The umpire’s judgement is final, and since Hope’s catch wasn’t simple, I will give her credit. It felt like a true journey.
“After the game also I spoke to Hope, he anticipated it very well but he said the ball came very, very fast.”
Although there are valid grounds for both sides to maintain their positions, what surprised me was how quickly the third umpire made a decision in this particular event. Although the BCCI chose to use the smart review system this season to speed up the process of making third umpire calls, we still witnessed a lengthy decision-making process for wide calls throughout this game. Paradoxically, a few overs after Samson was removed, there was a wide call that took far longer to verify the catch made by Hope. This inconsistent umpiring has been the subject of many discussions.
Whichever side is right, RR would be saddened by the defeat. They still had no business losing this match, as Sangakkara pointed out. Even though Samson’s dismissal did knock them back, they recovered to need only 42 off 22 balls with three boundaries and a six struck in the following four deliveries from Shubham Dubey and Rovman Powell. Donovan Ferreira’s power, who was making his IPL debut, was another. But in the end, DC finished the game handily by maintaining their composure with some deft death bowling. Regretfully, the Samson catch will be the subject of conversation despite all the fantastic cricket played by both teams.
