The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) match at Eden Gardens was full of controversy. The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 contest on Sunday saw Virat Kohli being given out on a delivery that looked like an above-waist-height no-ball to the naked eye. Though the umpires and the broadcaster justified the decision, the controversy hasn’t yet died down. As fans were coming to terms with Kohli’s debatable dismissal, another video emerged from the match, suggesting the umpires gave only 4 runs for a six to RCB batter Suyash Prabhudesai. (IPL 2024 Points Table)
The video emerged from the 5th delivery of the 17th over of the match, when Prabhudesai was facing KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy, with Dinesh Karthik at the non-striker’s end. Suyash smashed the ball towards the fine-leg boundary. The umpires signaled four, but fans felt the ball had crossed the boundary rope.
With RCB eventually suffering the defeat by a narrow margin of 1 run, the debate over this particular incident has left social media abuzz. In case of such close calls where it isn’t clear whether the ball bounced before the rope or after, a third umpire referral is often used. But, fans claim that such an action wasn’t initiated by the on-field umpires on this occasion.
The decision, hence, cost RCB not just 2 runs but the match.
What really happened during the incident?
As a matter of fact, the on-field did check with the third umpire about the decision, though the referral was a quick one. The third umpire immediately suggested that the ball had bounced before the rope, hence, only 4 runs were awarded.
Earlier, even the commentators reckoned that it was a six but the official decision was only a four.
The match officials or the IPL management is yet to comment on the matter.
