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If there’s one thing we cricket fans love more than a nail-biting finish, it’s a good old-fashioned controversy. And boy, did we get one in the IPL opener between RCB and KKR!
Now, let me set the scene for you. KKR was batting first, cruising along, when we reached the 7.4th over. Rasikh Salam steamed in, banged in a short one, and the batter (Sunil Narine)—clearly caught off guard—ended up knocking the bails off himself. Hit wicket, right? Well, not quite!
What Just Happened?
The moment was as clear as daylight: bat comes down, bails go flying, bowler starts celebrating… and then, plot twist—the umpire signals a wide! Wait, what? I stared at my screen, expecting the third umpire to step in, but nope, play continued as if nothing had happened. It was like watching a crime unfold, only for the judge to declare, “Sorry, not guilty.”
At this point, even my pet dog—who knows nothing about cricket except that I yell at the TV a lot—gave me a confused look.
So, Why Wasn’t It Out?
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “But isn’t that a textbook hit wicket?” Well, technically, yes. But here’s where the cricketing laws pull a sneaky one.
According to the rules, if a batsman dislodges the bails after the ball is deemed a wide, it doesn’t count as a hit wicket. That’s because a wide ball is immediately considered dead once called, meaning any action after that doesn’t count—kind of like trying to appeal for an LBW when the ball has already been smashed for six.
So basically, the umpire’s wide call saved the batter’s skin. Talk about a lucky break!
Has This Happened Before?
Oh, absolutely. Cricket has a rich history of bizarre decisions that have left players (and fans) scratching their heads. Remember when Virat Kohli lost his cool last season after getting out to a waist-high full toss that wasn’t called a no-ball? (Sportstar) That was another classic case of cricketing rules being as complicated as the Duckworth-Lewis method.
What’s the Lesson Here?
Well, apart from the fact that umpires always have the last laugh, this incident reminds us why cricket is such a beautiful yet frustrating game. Rules are rules, and while they might seem unfair at times, they exist for a reason (even if that reason sometimes defies common sense).
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