Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Ajinkya Rahane recalled from pavilion, allowed to resume batting in clash against Jammu & Kashmir

Mumbai skipper, Ajinkya Rahane was called back to bat on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy clash against Jammu & Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in Mumbai under rather questionable circumstances. The seasoned batter was declared out on the first delivery of the 25th over bowled by Umar Nazir. After nicking the ball down the leg-side to the wicketkeeper, Rahane made his way to the pavilion.

In the meantime, the next member in line, Shardul Thakur, had already made his way to the middle. However, after a few minutes of waiting before Thakur was allowed to take a strike, he was sent back and Rahane was summoned back. It later came to the notice of everyone that that particular delivery was a front-foot no-ball. Nevertheless, when Thakur was initially making his way back to the dugout, it seemed as if he had been "timed out." The flow of events even made the commentators on live television think that he was late to arrive at the crease.

Furthermore, the so-called no-ball was never shown on the live telecast by the fixture's official broadcaster, JioCinema. On being contacted, as per Cricbuzz, it was made known to the public and both the teams' management that the footage was inaccessible to the television production team, but it was to the third umpire. 

"When I tried reaching out to the umpire on the walkie-talkie, the umpire was on a different channel. So, it took some time to communicate to the on-field umpire. Rahane himself appeared on the screen, indicating that he did not hear the umpires asking him to wait. It was a clear no-ball and there was no doubt about it. I will send the relevant footage to the BCCI," shared Nitin Goel, the third umpire-cum-match referee, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

However, Rahane could not make the most of the second chance. It was Nazir who struck again, a couple of overs after the unusual event. This time though, it was confirmed that the wicket-taking delivery was indeed legal. Rahane made his way back scoring 16 off 36 deliveries in the second innings of Mumbai.   

Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian come to Mumbai's rescue 

As far as the match is concerned, Mumbai are placed at 219/7 in the 53rd over. At the time of writing, they possess a lead of 133 runs. From a precarious position of 101/7, Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian seemed to have saved the team from disgrace by stitching together an unbeaten century-run stand.

Also Read: Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umar Nazir reveals why he didn't celebrate after dismissing Rohit Sharma

Earlier in the day, a top-order collapse left the hosts reeling with J&K on top. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma perished for 26 and 28, respectively. A rare collapse from the middle-order left Mumbai in all sorts of trouble before Thakur and Kotian arrived to steer clear of danger.