“If Punjab survive today just thank third umpire” Twitter enraged as KL Rahul given not out despite a stunner by Rahul Tripathi
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The umpires officiating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) again find themselves under major scrutiny. The 45th match of the 14th edition of the T20 league saw Punjab Kings going up against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a must-win encounter. The match has become a talk of the town as many are criticizing the standards of umpiring after the PBKS skipper KL Rahul was given not out despite a clear catch by Rahul Tripathi.
The high-octane clash took a serious turn towards the end as Punjab needed 15 runs off the last two balls with KL Rahul and Shahrukh Khan. Shivam Mavi didn’t have a good start while bowling the penultimate over as he was hammered for a boundary on the very next ball.
However, the bowler redeemed himself by bowing a dot ball. There seemed to be a twist in the tale on the third ball as Mavi was almost successful in sending the opposition skipper KL Rahul back to the pavilion. Mavi bowled a short ball and Rahul pulled it flat to the deep. Tripathi who was standing at the midwicket boundary came running to cash the opportunity of sending the opposition’s best batter back.
Tripathi made a fabulous effort as he came running in and dived forward to get hold of the ball. Though the KKR player was confident, the on-field umpires found it wise to send the decision upstairs. The replays didn’t seem much conclusive as the third umpire looked at various angles to reach a decision.
Fans come in support of Rahul Tripathi
After all the zooming and looking at different angles, the tv umpire reached the conclusion that the ball is touching the ground. KL was thus given a lifeline and it cost Kolkata the whole match. Many fans didn’t seem much happy with the decision of declaring the Punjab skipper not out.
An official picture from the match is doing rounds on social media where it can be clearly seen that Tripathi has his fingers under the ball. The same resulted in the cricket fanatics becoming furious as they slammed the BCCI and the authorities for the low standard of umpiring.
Notably, the match was of utmost importance for both the teams as the game is heading towards its business days. After securing a five-wicket victory, Punjab have equaled KKR on the points table. Both the teams now have equal chances of making it to the top four.
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Sakshi Jain
(270 Articles Published)