Mumbai Indians defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday in a highly controversial Indian Premier League match.
Playing at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the hosts needed 7 runs to win off the last ball. Shivam Dube, playing in just his second IPL match, was on strike and Lasith Malinga had the ball.
Dube needed to hit a six of the last ball to take the match to a super over. But the left-hander managed to hit it just to long-on. He and his partner AB de Villiers, who played a majestic knock of 70 not out off 41, didn’t even care to take a single as Mumbai Indians won the match by six runs.
The only issue was that the last delivery by Malinga was a clear no-ball. Umpire Sundaram Ravi, a member of ICC’s Elite Panel of International Umpires, completely missed it.
RCB captain Virat Kohli soon realised what had happened and was visibly furious. “We are playing at the IPL level and not playing club cricket,” he told Ian Bishop in an on-field interview soon after.
“The umpires should have had their eyes open. That is a ridiculous call at the last ball. If it is a game of margins, I don’t know what is happening. They should have been more sharp and careful out there.”
Twitter, too, was shocked by the umpiring howler, with many past cricketers suggesting a better use of technology to avoid such mistakes.
Here are some reactions
Sorry.. but umpires are missing too many no balls these days.. time for another umpire on the ground to call no balls! #fedup
— Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) March 28, 2019
Technology should be used much more often in cricket ... so many front foot no-balls missed all the time in all formats and only checked on dismissal. Should be as simple as 3rd umpire telling the umpire through ear piece that a no ball has been bowled.
— Faf Du Plessis (@faf1307) March 28, 2019
In the world of technology that we live in, a NO BALL like that should NOT happen!
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) March 28, 2019
End Of Story!
Virat tears into the umpires and rightly so. That was a clear clear no ball. And it could have changed this match. Another controversy. Mankading to overlooking the no ball. @IPL in week one has it all.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) March 28, 2019
How in the world did the umpire not pick up that last ball no ball? And if he didn’t, shouldn’t the third umpire be in the ear of the on field ump and call it? Fine margins in this game.: and stakes much too high to allow such major errors in the IPL #RCBvsMI
— Citizen/नागरिक/Dost Rajdeep (@sardesairajdeep) March 28, 2019
In an era of so much technology and with so much at stake NO BALLS should never ever be missed .... #JustSaying #IPL2019
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 28, 2019
The live broadcast producer who ran that no-ball replay has probably ended umpire Sundaram Ravi's career. #RCBvMI #IPL
— Malay Desai (@MalayD) March 28, 2019
#RCBvMI
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) March 28, 2019
If that no-ball had been called - Dube takes single, 6 runs to win, ABD on strike, and a FREE HIT.#BooHoo
Bumrah has so much to thank Malinga for - from yorkers to no balls, what a great teacher.#RCBvMI
— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) March 28, 2019
Thrilling win for MI. Superb bowling by Bumrah and Malinga in last 2 overs. Not easy to stymie ABD in full flow. But some luck too with the last delivery, a no ball, not being called!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 28, 2019
poor umpiring... wide given in bumrah bowling and no ball not called in malinga bowling #Rcbvmi
— Superstar Prince MB (@supersampangi) March 28, 2019
Malinga’s last ball was a no-ball....BIG one. Umpire missed it. Colossal error. Unbelievable. #RCBvMI #IPL
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 28, 2019
A #Wrogn decision by umpires bought by #Paytm cost us tonight's #RCBvMI game. Had they been wearing #CrizalLenses with #Lenskart frames, they would have seen this overstepping clearly. Time to replace stadium floodlight bulbs with #SyskaLED for bright light & clear view. pic.twitter.com/ILHtYpmgvv
— Branded Virat Kolhi (@imVlkohli) March 28, 2019