In the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), there have been a plethora of controversies relating to umpires’ calls. Even, the final of the tournament was no exception that which has been played between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in Hyderabad.
Mumbai Indians star batsman, Kieron Pollard was looking unhappy with the umpire when the umpire Nitin Menon after the latter failed to give a wide call after a Dwayne Bravo yorker went well past the tram line in the final over of Mumbai’s innings. Pollard showcased his frustration by throwing his bat into the night sky after Bravo walked back after bowling the third delivery of the over.
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However, as Bravo was running up for the 4th ball, Pollard stood well outside the off-stump guard. It seemed as if Pollard was taking guard outside the pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Watching the same, CSK tweeted: “Taking guard in the next pitch”.
Taking guard in the next pitch! 🤔#WhistlePodu #Yellove #IPL2019Final #CSKvMI 💛🦁
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 12, 2019
Bravo was forced to stop his run-up and umpire Nitin Menon and Ian Gould had a word with Pollard for the reaction. While the Windies batsman was arguably right in getting frustrated after the call, he was criticized for his reaction to the umpire’s decision by on-air commentators during the dramatic final over.
Here is the video of the incident:
https://twitter.com/Vidshots1/status/1127614463031431174
However, Pollard though held his nerves and slammed two boundaries in the last two balls of over to help MI reach the total of 149/8 in 20 overs. It’s his 32 birthday and Kieron smashed 41 from 25 balls, hitting 3 sixes and as many boundaries.
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CSK skipper MS Dhoni preferred Bravo over Purple Cap holder Imran Tahir for the final over and the Windies all-rounder was quite accurate with his line and length while bowling to Pollard. The umpiring howlers have been the talk of the town in IPL 2019 so far. Poor no-ball calls, angry captains and frustrated players were a common sight throughout the season.
