The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the most competitive franchise tournament in the world. World-class players from across the globe participate in the league. The competition is intense. There is no room for error whatsoever. In this highly charged up atmosphere, the umpires are often under the pump. They are the ones who are always expected to be infallible. But they are humans too at the end of the day. They have at times made some errors which have eventually proved to be too costly. Teams have agitated against few decisions. Games have come to a standstill on few occasions owing to wrong umpiring decisions. such IPL controversial umpiring leads to misconceptions Among fans.
We look at 4 such IPL Controversial Umpiring Decisions:
#4 The umpire decides as per Dhoni’s will
IPL 2020 was a forgettable affair for the Chennai Super Kings. They were on a losing spree and nothing was going their way. CSK were desperate for a win. In a game against SRH, the match was hanging in the balance. In the second ball of the 19th over, Shardul Thakur bowled a delivery that was clearly a wide. The officiating umpire was about to call a wide and had almost extended his arms. But then, big boss CSK skipper MS Dhoni was not happy with it. He immediately made an angry gesture towards the umpire in anger. It looked as if he was questioning the umpire. In the heat of the moment, the umpire immediately changed his decision. David Warner, leading the SRH side wasn’t happy with what he saw. But Dhoni had the last laugh. CSK ended up winning the game.
#3 Lasith Malinga’s no-ball against RCB
During IPL 2019, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) clashed at Bengaluru in a league game. RCB side won the toss and asked MI to bat first. Rohit Sharma led from the front scoring 48. Hardik Pandya provided the final touches with a 14 ball 32*. MI posted a total of 187/8. In response, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers led the charge. Kohli scored 46 off 32 deliveries while De Villiers scored 70* off just 41 balls. But, in spite of the splendid batting effort from the duo, RCB fell short by just 6 runs. An umpiring error might have cost them the game.
Off the last delivery of the innings, RCB needed 7 runs to win. The big-hitting Shivam Dube was at the crease. Malinga had clearly overstepped off the last ball of the match, but the on-field umpire had failed to notice it. If only had the umpire called it a no-ball, RCB would have gotten an extra ball and a free hit to make those 7 runs. But it wasn’t meant to be. RCB narrowly missed out on finishing in the Top 4. Who knows what might have happened had they won this game, RCB fand felt its one of the biggest Controversial Umpiring decision in IPL.
#2 Square leg umpire refused to take it to the third umpire
There is always an umpiring error waiting to happen when CSK and SRH clash. It was another tightly contested game where SRH were behind the eight-ball right since ball one. Kane Williamson captaining the side was leading a brilliant run-chase. But suddenly an umpiring howler stalled the innings’ momentum. Shardul Thakur was the beneficiary here again. On the second ball of the 17th over of the SRH innings, he bowled a delivery that was above Williamson’s waist. But, surprisingly, the leg umpire declared that it was a fair delivery. The umpire could have asked the third umpire for clarification. But he refused it flat out. This not only robbed SRH of an extra delivery but also a free hit. CSK eventually won the game by 4 runs.
#1 A wrong short-run call
IPL 2020 saw many pulsating last-over finishes. In one of the earlier games of the IPL, Punjab and Delhi clashed in a low-scoring thriller. In the 19th over of the run-chase, the umpire had incorrectly called a short run. The game eventually ended in a tie. DC went on to win the super-over. Punjab felt heartbroken owing to the umpiring blunder. The result came back to bite Punjab as they lost out on a playoff spot.
