What an exciting final over, with 36 runs required from DC in 6 balls Rovman Powell, the DC batsman on the strike, was unleashing wrath on the RR bowler Obed Mcvoy. Everything was going well until the 4th ball of the over where Obed Mcvoy bowled what looked like a direct above waist ball. Naturally, we expect the umpires to check this and confirm. Particularly in the recent context of IPL matched matches, we have seen that umpires have been actively checking for every possibility of No-balls with the cameras and the help of the third umpire.
But this didn’t happen, even after repeated appeals from the DC team that off-field and batsmen on-field, umpires refused to check or refer to check on the big screen. Angered and frustrated DC Captain Rishabh Pant asked his batsmen to walk off the field and stop the play. Even after threatening to walk off umpires refused to check it for the no-ball. In the most shocking incident so far in the history of IPL, a DC staff member came running to the empire and argued to check for the no-ball, which is a clear violation of the rules in the book. Eventually, the DC lost the match.
Was it right for Rishabh Pant and his team to show dissent and stop the play?
Yes, it was a no-ball and you might have lost the game because of the poor judgment of the umpire. But umpires make mistakes all the time and we accept it as part of the game. The behavior from the DC camp was unacceptable for many of the veteran cricketers/commentators who didn’t hesitate to criticize the actions on air.
During the post-match presentation, Rishabh Pant accepted that their behavior was unacceptable while taking a dig at the umpires by expressing that what happened with the no-ball call was disappointing and unacceptable too for them.
