India registered a dramatic four-wicket win over Pakistan in their T20 World Cup opener at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
They chased down the target of 160 runs in exactly 20 overs, with Ravichandran Ashwin scoring the winning runs off the last ball of the match.
Virat Kohli emerged as the winner as he remained unbeaten on 82 off just 53 balls, giving the team a winning start to the marquee tournament.
Controversy surrounded the match. First, Akshar Patel’s decision to run out sparked a major debate among the fans, who believed that Rizwan had blown the bails with his gloves.
There was drama in the last over as on the fourth delivery of the over, Kohli hit a huge six off Mohammad Nawaz when the team needed 13 runs off three balls. Seconds later, the umpire also called it a no-ball because of the height.
When the next delivery was declared wide, Nawaz managed to bowl Kohli as he dismissed the batsman, but as it was a free hit, Kohli was safe. The batsman scored three runs with his partner Dinesh Karthik. But controversy erupted when Pakistani players, including captain Babar Azam, argued with the umpire whether runs should be awarded to the Indian team.
According to commentators, it seems Babar wanted to call this delivery a ‘dead ball’, as it hit the stumps, but what does the rule say?
According to the MCC Rules of Cricket, the ball can only be dead when it “ends into the hands of the wicket-keeper or bowler”, or when “a boundary is struck”.
A ball may also be called a dead ball when “a batsman is given out. The ball shall be deemed dead immediately after the event leading to the dismissal.”
Law – 20.1.1 – also provides for various other methods of declaring the ball dead, including when the umpire has discretion over the decision. Regarding a ball hitting the stumps, the umpire may call the ball dead when “one or both balls fall through the striker’s wicket before the striker has a chance to play the ball.”
In a free hit, only four methods of dismissal are allowed — handling the ball, hitting the ball twice, obstructing the field, and running out — and hence, India were given a bye as the ball was still in play. I was. Since India needed 5 runs to win in three balls before bowling, the equation came down to needing 2 in the same number of balls.
“If a batsman is caught on a free hit, he can score runs and his score will be added to his total, and if he is bowled with an edge, he can take the runs that his will be added to the total. But if he is bowled without an edge, he can run but the runs will go to extras.
While Dinesh Karthik was stumped on the very next delivery, Ashwin kept his composure to guide India to victory with a lofted shot at mid-off.
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