The seventh match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, that was turning out to be one of the most interesting matches ended with a controversy that overshadowed the amazing match.
The match saw a major howler by the umpire Sundaram Ravi as he failed to spot Mumbai Indians’ bowler Lasith Malinga overstepping off the last ball to RCB batsman Shivam Dubey, with RCB only needing 6 runs to win.
If the Umpire was able to spot the last ball as “no-ball” or had even checked it with the 3rd umpire, it would have turned the tables for RCB as AB de Villiers would take the strike on the final legal delivery. But eventually, RCB lost the match with 6 runs.
Umpire Ravi is one of the four Indian umpires that belong to the International Panel of ICC umpires and is a part of the 12-members elite panel. It is being said that he even missed a couple of other no-balls and a wide in the match apart from Malinga’s last ball, that caught everyone’s attention.
Why there’s a need for independent technology or feature that just calls “No balls”?
The ‘No-Ball’ howler of Umpire Ravi once again highlighted the poor standards of umpiring in the IPL and generated a keen debate on social media, with many people demanding a new technology or feature for “no-ball, that will not just give some relief to the already overburdened umpires but will also prevent such howlers in the matches.
This has now become a matter of concern for everyone, that if an international umpire is committing mistakes of this stature, we can’t even imagine the state and the quality at other local tournaments and leagues.
In the year 2017, a total of 25 howlers took place that eventually resulted in the use of DRS in the game. Today, DRS is a regular feature of the Indian Premier League. Ever since the DRS has been included in the game, it has highlighted many umpiring howlers, with as many as 7 decisions being overturned in 9 matches. Just like the DRS, there should be a separate technology to eliminate the “no-ball” errors as well.
In the world of technology that we live in, a NO BALL like that should NOT happen!
End Of Story!
— Kevin Pietersen???? (@KP24) March 28, 2019
The point was brought in by the former cricketer Kevin Pietersen who called for a separate technology, that will spot no-balls.
Meanwhile, both the captains opened up about the controversy and said such things are not acceptable. The skipper of RCB, Virat Kohli, who was left fuming in the aftermath termed the decision of Umpire Ravi as “ridiculous call”, he said :
“We are playing at IPL level, not club cricket. That is just a ridiculous call off the last ball. The umpires should have their eyes open, it was a no-ball by an inch. It is a completely different game altogether [if there was the extra delivery]. They should have been sharper and more careful out there.”
Rohit Sharma, the skipper of Mumbai Indians too was very criticized the oversight error of the umpire, he said :
“Winning or losing doesn’t matter. It is not good for the game of cricket. Those sorts of mistakes have to be avoided”.
He added:
“For players, if you make a mistake, we pay for it. Eventually, the game will start moving in a different direction if these things keep happening. It is not about who won the game, decisions are important and those crucial decisions can change the game. Whether it is a wide or a no ball, we just have to be more aware,”
Well, with the beginning of a tournament like this and players using Mankad-ing, the umpires have a big responsibility on their shoulders along with additional pressure from now onwards of being watched closely.
Written by Unnati Madan
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