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Friday's match between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) was filled with drama and controversy after an apparent no-ball was missed by the umpires Nitin Menon and Nikhil Patwardhan leading to DC's loss against the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) champions.
A match that was filled with some excellent batting displays from both sides, was marred by an incident in the last over of the match. Chasing a massive total of 223, DC needed 36 runs in the last over. Being bowled by Obed McCoy, he was smashed for three successive sixes by Rovman Powell at the start, with the last off a high full toss that the DC players in the dugout felt was above the waist.
After the ball was seen as legitimate by the umpires, the DC camp were frustrated and questioned the decision and why it could not be checked with the third umpire. In a fit of rage, skipper Rishabh Pant was seen calling back the batters as he felt they were wronged.
Assistant coach Shane Watson was seen speaking to Pant although the captain refused to tone down. The former Australian cricketer's attempt to calm Pant down seemingly failed as he sent coaching staff member Pravin Amre onto the field to discuss the chaos with the umpires.
This was reminiscent of MS Dhoni's famous walk onto the field of play to question a decision in the 2019 season of the IPL, ironically against the same opposition. The game resumed soon after with the umpires sticking to their original call and not checking the decision upstairs.
So why was the no-ball not reviewed to the third umpire by the on-field umpires?
The rules say that on-field umpires cannot review decisions other than for dismissals to the third umpire. The IPL Playing Conditions also state that only dismissals and front foot no balls can be reviewed to the third umpire by the on-field umpires.
What do the playing conditions in relation to Umpire Reviews:
The on-field umpires have the discretion to review to the third umpire for the following circumstances:
1. Runout, stumped, bowled and hit wicket decisions
2. Caught decisions, obstructing the field
3. Boundary decisions
4. Batter running to the same end
However, if a dismissal were to happen off the waist-high full toss, a check would be initiated to see if it was a no-ball for height.
The umpires had no option but to play by the rules and stick to what they felt was right because the ball had gone for a six and they felt it was not a no-ball. Their decision sparked a massive controversy as many current and former players were unhappy with the standard of umpiring. But many felt that Pant's reaction to the incident was uncalled for.
"This is cricket, not football. You cannot be doing that. You cannot enter the field [referring to Pravin Amre]. I don't think that would have happened if Ricky Ponting was there. I don't think that would have happened at all. Jos Buttler has every right to walk up to Rishabh Pant and say, 'hey, what on earth are you doing?'. For them to send one of their coaches to actually go on to the field and think that that was right, I don't think that was the correct behaviour. We play the gentleman's game and people make mistakes...," commentator and former England skipper Kevin Pietersen said.
The DC skipper himself spoke up about the incident at the post-match presentation ceremony, "Powell gave us a chance. I thought the no ball could have been precious for us," Pant stated. "I thought we could have checked that no ball, but it's not in my control."
"I think third umpire should have intervened in between and said it was a no ball, but I can't change the rule myself I guess," Pant added.
Following the incident, DC skipper and assistant coach Pravin Amre were penalised 100% of their match fees, with the latter also getting a three-match ban. Bowler Shardul Thakur was also fined 50 per cent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the match.
