IPL 2019: Umpires miss Lasith Malinga's no-ball in the 20th over

The game could've gone either way if the no-ball had been called.

Published - 29 Mar 2019, 00:17 IST | Updated - 29 Mar 2019, 00:17 IST

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The controversy and the Indian Premier League (IPL) are going hand in hand this season it seems. If Ravi Ashwin mankading Jos Buttler wasn’t enough, the on-field umpire S Ravi missed the most crucial no-ball of the match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Thursday.

The encounter went right down the wire with the RCB needing 17 runs from the last over. Lasith Malinga was handed over the ball by the skipper Rohit Sharma. Despite Shivam Dube hitting a six off the first ball of the over, it came down to seven off the last delivery with the youngster on strike. There was a conferencing meeting for Mumbai even as Dube took the stance with an aim to take the game into the super over.

But Malinga’s experience prevailed in the end as the low full toss was almost impossible to hit. He could only smash the ball to the long-on fielder as both the teams shook hands.

Twist in the tail

But there was a huge twist. The replays showed that Lasith Malinga had overstepped and the umpire S Ravi had missed it clearly. Malinga’s front-foot landed ahead of the crease and the same was shown on the big screen in the stadium which led to a severe outrage from the RCB skipper Virat Kohli. He clearly lashed out at the umpiring standards in the post-match presentation ceremony and looked livid with it.

Though Rohit Sharma was delighted with a victory even criticised the umpiring in the game. Apart from the no-ball in the last ball, he questioned one of the wides given early in the innings and felt that these decisions turn out to be game-changers in the end. It remains to be seen now if a statement comes from the BCCI as it is a huge blunder from the umpires and the RCB were at the wrong side of it with MI cruising to their maiden win of the season.