Rohit Sharma of all people did not need a third umpire or DRS “error” currently as he is witnessing a torrid time in IPL 2023 with the bat. He could not have asked for better conditions to regain form when MI locked horns with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday was a batting paradise. But as luck would have it, he was dismissed for 7 off 8 balls due to a controversial DRS decision, which was criticized by former Indian cricketers Mohammad Kaif and Munaf Patel.
The incident took place in the last ball of the fifth over in MI’s chase. Wanindu Hasaranga was bowling well as he dismissed a rampaging Ishan Kishan in the fourth ball of the over. Rohit decided to skip down the track to negate any turn Hasaranga might get. He didn’t quite reach the pitch of the ball and it rammed into his pads. The RCB fielders went up in a huge appeal but the umpire shook his head.
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After consulting the keeper and the bowler, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis decided to review the decision. Replays showed three reds but what the third umpire fail to ask for or the DR’s tracker did not show was the distance Rohit had traveled from the crease. According to IPL playing conditions, if the distance between the point of the first intersection and the stumps is more than 3 meters then the on-field decision of not out even if the ball pitches in line, the impact is fine and it also goes on to hit the stumps.
The reason behind this rule is simple: The ball tracking is not accurate when the distance between impact and the stumps is more than 3 meters. In the case of Rohit, no such distance tracker was shown, and neither did the third umpire ask for it. Hence, the decision was reversed and much to the dismay of the MI skipper, the third umpire gave him marching orders.
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Screenshots of Rohit being 3.7 meters away from the stumps at the time of the ball hitting his pads went viral but there is no way to authenticate the images. However, to the naked eye, it definitely looked more than 3 metres. Former Indian batter, Mohammad Kafi expressed his dismay at the decision. “Hello DRS, yeh thoda jyada nahi ho gaya? (Isn’t it too much) How can this be lbw?” he tweeted.
Hello DRS, yeh thoda jyada nahi ho gaya? How can this be lbw? pic.twitter.com/bAgFNevUXL
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 9, 2023
Another former India cricketer, Munaf Patel took a dig at the review system by saying that there is a need of using DRS against DRS itself. “Lagta he ab DRS bhi DRS hona chahye, Unlucky #RohitSharma. Kya bolti public, ye Out he ya nai ?? (It seems like there is a need to have DRS for DRS, unlucky Rohit Sharma. What do the fans feel, was it out?” he tweeted.
Lagta he ab DRS b DRS hona chahye, Unlucky #RohitSharma
Kya bolti public, ye Out he ya nai ??#MIvRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/yDCgFp92kZ— Munaf Patel (@munafpa99881129) May 9, 2023
The decision, however, did not cost MI as they breezed through to a six-wicket win with as many as 21 balls to spare thanks to Suryakumar Yadav (83 off 35) and Nehal Wadhera’s (52 off 34) dazzling display.
