Match number 34 of IPL 2022 between Delhi capitals and Rajasthan Royals (RR) was no less than an action movie. It had every sort of suspense that the viewers would’ve expected to witness. Rajasthan Royal (RR) batting first smacked the Delhi bowlers and sent them to all parts of the ground to Notch up 222 for the loss of 2 wickets by the end of 20 overs.
Chasing the total the Delhi capitals kept themselves in The hunt with counter-attacking batting at regular intervals but still found themselves in a spot of bother due to not being able to handle the pressure of such a huge total against a quality bowling lineup as that of Rajasthan. At one stage the capitals needed 36 runs off the last over that was to be bowled by Over McCoy. The task certainly seemed impossible to everyone watching the game. However, West Indian big-hitter Rovman Powell had other ideas as he smacked two consecutive sixes off the two opening deliveries of the over.
McCoy who was seemingly under pressure probably tried to try a Yorker in the third delivery but messed it totally which ended up being a full toss which was once again swung away for a maximum by Powell. This is where the controversy started as the ball same to be above the waist height of the batsman and was thus expected to be a no-ball. The empires however declared it a fair delivery much to the surprise of the Delhi capitals.
The entire Delhi capitals dugout consisting of the coaching staff, players along with the pair of betters on the pitch were shocked and give went to their annoyance over the umpire’s unfair decision. Pravin ran into the pitch to have a one to one chat with the umpires. The entire Delhi dugout including the coaching staff and the players begin arguments with the on-field umpires over the decision and claimed the delivery to be above waist height. Much to their disappointment all their efforts and heated up conversations with the umpires ended up in nothing as the decision wasn’t overturned.
Delhi ended up losing the match by 15 runs but what was an even bigger topic of discussion was the unfortunate incident that turned the on-field environment into a weird one in no time. Several opinions for being past by people who watched the incident live. Some said it is diminishing the ethics and laws of the game. While the others complained about the flaws in the umpiring which possibly has cost Delhi the match.
Certainly, moments like these in cricket have occurred several times in the past and it’s thus not really possible for any person to give a proper fair verdict in these regards. Situations like these no matter how much suspense and drama they bring, must not occur anytime soon again as all it does is destroy the spirit of this beautiful game. Several unanswered questions too however are bound to remain lingering on in our minds, “should the umpires have given it a no ball?”, “could Rovman have won his side the game if the pore favoured his side over that delivery’s controversial situation?”.
Controversial Umpiring in the last over brings an Unpleasant end to the Thrilling clash between RR and DC
