5 Umpiring bloopers that rocked the game in recent times

The umpires are once again under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons after a blooper from S Ravi marred a thrilling game of cricket between the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Thursday. The high-voltage clash was set for a thrilling end with RCB needing 17 runs from the final over. Rohit Sharma handed the ball to his old warhorse Lasith Malinga with AB de Villiers and the exciting Shivam Dube in the middle.

Dube started the over on the perfect note by hitting Malinga for a superb six over long-off. But the most successful bowler in the history of the IPL showed his immense experience by conceding just four singles on the next four deliveries. The equation was finally down to 7 from the last ball. Dube hit the final delivery towards Rohit Sharma at long on and the batsmen did not even bother to cross for a single as the writing was very much on the wall.

It brought an end to an exhilarating game as the players shook hands. However, everyone was then left stunned when the giant screen showed that Malinga had overstepped on the final delivery. Umpire S Ravi had missed it completely and since then the result of the game has taken the back seat as the officials have been receiving widespread criticism. Soon after the game, Virat Kohli came down hard on the umpires while Rohit Sharma also criticised the error.

Later the likes of Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis and several other big names took to Twitter to slam the mistake. Well, it was not the first major umpiring blooper in recent times. Despite the use of so much of technology, the umpires have failed to live up to the expectations.

Here we are taking a look at some recent major umpiring errors:

1. Oshane Thomas’ no-ball

The third T20I between Bangladesh and Windies turned out to be highly controversial when the on-field umpire Tanvir Ahmed called a no-ball when the bowler hadn’t overstepped. Oshane Thomas had a bowled a legitimate delivery to get the batsman Liton Das dismissed. But the umpire called it a no-ball only to reprieve the batsman However, the replays showed that the bowlers’ front-foot landed clearly behind the line.

The same umpire had done the same mistake earlier in the over and this time, the Windies skipper Carlos Brathwaite expressed his disappointment. Even the match referee had to walk down to the ground to settle the matters. Despite the mistake done by the umpire, the on-field call stayed and showing the sportsman spirit, the Caribbean players continued to play.

2. Pat Cummins’ controversial catch

During the fourth ODI between India and Australia earlier this month, Yuzvendra Chahal had hit Pat Cummins’ delivery straight back to the bowler. Cummins, in return, had taken a tumbling catch in his followthrough. However, the ball had soon popped out of his hand after he lost control of the ball while trying to get up.

The on-field umpires referred the matters upstairs while stating that the soft signal as not-out. As per the rules, a catch is not legitimate if the fielder is not in control of the ball and many felt that Chahal would get the decision in his favour. However, the third umpire decided otherwise, much to everyone’s surprise.

3. Harsh wide off Bumrah

In the very same IPL game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, the umpire had called a wide in the 19th over when the match was evenly poised. Jasprit Bumrah had bowled a wider delivery to Colin de Granhomme which after pitching had slid in. The ball was well inside the white-ball but the umpire did not refrain from extending his arms and adjudge a seemingly fine delivery wide.

4. Umpires fail to notice no balls after no balls

The third Test between England Sri Lanka last year came into headlines for all the wrong reasons. More than the result of the game, Sri Lanka spinner Lakshan Sandakan’s bowling spell became a topic of discussion. According to the ESPNCricinfo stats,  40% of Sandakan’s deliveries were actually “no balls” but umpire S Ravi, the same umpire who is currently facing the flak,  failed to take that into notice.

5. Ishant’s no-balls go unnoticed

The first Test between India and Australia at Adelaide last year had highlighted the poor quality of umpiring at the moment. The on-field umpires had allegedly missed spotting as many as 16 no-balls. India’s pace spearhead Ishant Sharma was the biggest culprit, bowling four no balls out of six in two separate overs. In fact,  one over from the pacer was bowled entirely over the mark with not a single ball being legitimate. However, the umpires had failed to notice them.

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