IPL 2019: 10 highlights from the first 10 days of the tournament

#8 The “Mankading” episode

Ravi Ashwin '

mankading

' Jos Buttler (Image courtesy: IPLT20/BCCI)

The much-awaited controversy always associated with IPL showed its ugly face in the fourth match of IPL 2019 between KXIP and RR.

Chasing 185 for a win, RR were comfortably placed at 105 for 1 in 12 overs. In a desperate attempt to give a breakthrough for his team, the Kings XI Punjab Captain R Ashwin resorted to mankading the well-set Jos Buttler who was backing too far at the non-striker's end. That ungainly wicket caused a collapse in the RR camp and in the end, they lost the plot and the match by 14 runs.

Ashwin’s mankading of Buttler has racked up a huge controversy and there was a bundle of opinions supporting and criticizing Ashwin’s act. Though Ashwin got a lot of flak in the first few days, supports started to pour in for him at a later stage.

The latest controversy has brought to light the fact that there have been some batsmen who have been the regular serial offenders in this case. But the million dollar question is “ Should Ashwin have done the same if the non-striker happened to be a Virat Kohli or an MS Dhoni?

#7 The no-ball controversy

Lasith Malinga (Image Courtesy: IPL T20/ BCCI)

Before the mankading controversy died down, the no-ball controversy erupted in the 7th match between MI and RCB at Bangalore.

RCB needed 6 runs off the last ball to level the score and take the match to the Super Over. Malinga bowled a no-ball which went unnoticed by the on-field umpire S. Ravi.

S. Ravi's reluctance to stretch his arms cost RCB the match

Had that last ball been called a no-ball, RCB would have needed 5 runs in 1 ball with a free hit to go with for which AB de Villiers would have been on strike. As it turned out, RCB lost an IPL match for the first time while chasing where AB de Villiers remained not out.

The mute point on everyone’s mind was what prevented the umpires to stop the celebration of the Mumbai team and ask Malinga to bowl one more ball when the glitch was brought to their notice.

In a recent Test match between the West Indies and England, the England batsman Ben Stokes who was wrongly given out and had to leave the field was interrupted in the showers by the fourth umpire to bring him back to the middle to resume his innings. The same logic should have been followed in Bangalore.

Now about Umpire S.Ravi, the less said the better. He is topping the list of International umpires whose on-field decisions have been overturned by the third umpire for the most number of times in the recent past. It is a pity that S. Ravi is the only umpire from India who is in the ICC elite panel of umpires.

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