5 Umpiring blunders in IPL history

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is regarded as one of the best T20 leagues. The competitive and the adrenaline-pumping contest is followed and keenly observed throughout the globe. The emphatic run-chases and the nail-biting finishes are seen in every edition of the IPL.

Fans are glued to their television and the passionate cricket gurus have their own analysis for the tournament. Because of the new age of technology and high media coverage, the fans and the players have complete access to the action on the ground.

T20 Cricket is a fast-paced sport and umpires play a crucial role and the decisions taken by them often decide the course of the game. But over the years in the IPL, there have been some errors in by the umpires that altered the fate of the match.

Here are the 5 instances when umpires made errors in the IPL:

1. MI VS RCB – 2019

The clash between RCB and MI is always a contest to look forward to, because of the number of match-winners present on either side. The match in 2019 at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru did not see a satisfying end. The match played inch-to-inch with 7 runs needed at the last ball. Lasith Malinga, the bowler, accidentally stepped over the bowling crease and the umpire failed to notice. The match officials were S. Ravi and C.K. Nandan.

Batting first, the mighty batting line of MI managed to power through a 187-run total. AB de Villiers’ unbeaten knock of 70 helped RCB come very close of the target. RCB batsmen Shivam Dube and ABD entered into the final over of the match needing 17.

The crowd were on their feet as they managed to score 10 of the first 5 balls. The last ball was bowled by Malinga and it came to be a dot. The MI started to celebrate the victory and the teams shook hands. Only minutes later, the replay showed that Sri Lankan had his foot landing out of the crease as he bowled the last ball.

Realizing that RCB still had a chance to win the game if the umpire called a no-ball, Kohli and men were furious. In the post-match interview, skipper Kohli displayed his disappointment with the match officials. The third umpire didn’t intervene and RCB lost the match which potentially they could have won.

2. KXIP vs DC – 2020

After months of anticipation, the IPL 2020 was eventually shifted to the UAE for safety reasons. Although the tournament started off well, there already has been an error in judgement by the umpires that cost the game for KXIP. In the match between DC and KXIP, a short run was called on the third ball of 19th over, which after a closer look seemed like a wrong decision. The on-field umpires for the match were Nitin Menon and Anil Chaudhary.

Batting first and finishing strongly at 157/8 in their 20 overs, DC seemed pretty confident to defend the total. However, the brilliant knock of Mayank Agarwal gave a great chance for KXIP to win the game. With KXIP needing 21 off 10 deliveries to defeat Delhi Capitals, Chris Jordan was called for a short run by Menon, which meant that only one run was added to Punjab’s total. The match ended on a tie, which went on to the first super over of IPL 2020 and DC went on to register their first win of the tournament.

After the match came into a tragic end for KXIP, the light was shined upon the fact that ‘Short Run’ called by the umpire in the 19th over was indeed wrong. Which meant that without that call, KXIP would have comfortably won the game. Although KL Rahul, the captain of KXIP, had a chat with the umpire, the damage was done. Errors in such decisions often cost immensely for any side. It was tough luck on KXIP that even after putting up a great winning effort, an error in judgement by the Umpire cost them the match.

3. CSK VS RR – 2019

Rajasthan Royals hosted the table-toppers Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The Royals record at home is impeccable. The hosts were put in to bat after MS Dhoni won the toss. Owing to the slowness of the pitch, RR managed to score 151. What came to be a close contest took an unexpected turn when a beamer from Ben Stokes was called a no-ball from the standing umpire, which was later overruled by the leg umpire.

Skipper Dhoni scored a cracking knock of 58 off 43 balls. CSK needed 18 runs off the last over but things did not go as planned for the chasing side. Dhoni was cleaned up in the third ball and Mitchell Santner took the strike and immediately faced a beamer from Stokes.

As soon as the ball was bowled, standing umpire Ulhas Gandhe signalled it as no-ball without even consulting with the square-leg umpire Bruce Oxenford. Within matter of seconds, the decision was reversed. Dhoni immediately invaded the pitch with a temper and had a heated discussion with the umpires.

It was evident that a controversial decision was made by the leg umpire not to call it a no-ball. Umpire Bruce Oxenford’s decision prevailed as no-ball call related to height has to be called by the leg umpire and not the standing umpire. Although CSK pulled off a victory on the last ball, it was quite the mistake made by the Umpire.

4. KXIP vs KKR – 2018

In IPL 2018, Kings XI Punjab visited the Eden Gardens for an encounter with Kolkata Knight Riders. Punjab won the toss and decided to bowl first and Andrew Tye was introduced in the last over the Powerplay. As Tye followed through his run-up, a no-ball was called on the very first ball. As it came up on the big screen, everyone witnessed that the umpire had made an error. The on-field umpires for the game were C. Shamshuddin and Abhijit Deshmukh.

KXIP captain Ravichandran Ashwin’s decision to bowl first initially paid off as the bowlers were tight and gave away just 38 runs in 5 overs. However, the home team managed to post a mammoth total of 191. The judgemental error from the umpire calling a perfectly fine delivery a no-ball did not cause a huge impact.

However, the error in umpiring came in as a surprise since usually, umpires fail to spot a no-ball from the bowler. This was a strange and only occasion where the bowler and the team were penalized for something they did not commit.

5. MI vs SRH – 2017

In 2017, Mumbai Indians hosted the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede stadium. Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. The match went on smoothly until the 7th over. But the commentators noticed that David Warner, despite scoring a boundary of the last ball of the previous over, had again taken strike in the 7th over. The officials for the game were Nitin Menon and C.K. Nandan.

The Mumbai Indians ensured that SRH batsmen didn’t get to flex their muscles in the Powerplay. Coming to the end of the Powerplay, there was a strange mishap that the Umpires and the Match Officials failed to notice. As Mitchell McClenaghan was introduced into the attack, David Warner was on strike and the game went on as normal. It was when the commentators noticed that Warner, who hit a cracking shot for four in the last ball of the previous over, was again back on strike for this over.

It was an absolute blunder that the match officials and the umpires overlooked. The umpires are expected to notice and a certain presence of mind as a lot rests on their shoulders. The game of cricket is complex and things change really quickly by a very small factor. Manual mistakes from the umpire despite the access of technology is certainly a disappointing fact.