IND-W vs SA-W: Uma Chetry illegally stumps Tazmin Brits, umpire rules 'Not Out' & 'No Ball'

The second Women's T20I between India and South Africa took centre stage on Sunday, July 07, as the Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur announced one change at the toss. The revamp came in the form of debutant Uma Chetry, who replaced injured Richa Ghosh as the designated wicketkeeper-batter for the match. While Kaur invited the visiting side to bat first, the Indians manufactured a chance for themselves in the second itself.

In her first-ever outing for the Women in Blue, Uma Chetry had the perfect opportunity to announce herself on the international stage, as South African opener Tazmin Brits stepped out on the fourth ball of the over bowled by Sajana Sajeevan. Capitalizing quickly on Brits' movement, Chetry flipped off the bails, inheriting confidence that she had gotten the batter out.

However, the decision for a 'stumping appeal' was sent upstairs and the third umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal zoomed in his eyes for a look at the Proteas batter's feet. Incidentally, Madanagopal found a strange method inflicted by Chetry to collect the ball before flipping off the bails. As a result, the batter got a reprieve when the big screen displayed Not Out, followed by a No Ball signal by the on-field umpire.

Watch the video of the incident here:

Why was Tazmin Brits declared Not Out, No Ball signalled by the umpire?

It is worth mentioning that the no-ball signalled wasn't for the bowler overstepping off the popping crease, but because the stumper had collected the ball before it passed the stumps completely. The decision made by the third umpire was in-line with the rules of cricket, as stated MCC Laws.

The MCC Law 27.3, dealing with the position of wicket-keeper states, “The wicketkeeper shall remain wholly behind the wicket at the striker’s end from the moment the ball comes into play until a ball delivered by the bowler touches the bat or person of the striker or passes the wicket at the striker’s end or the striker attempts a run.”

“In the event of the wicket-keeper contravening this Law, the striker’s end umpire shall call and signal No ball as soon as applicable after the delivery of the ball,” the law reads further.

Meanwhile, Brits made the most out of her lifeline, amassing a half-century before Deepti Sharma finally got the better of her. Interestingly, she got stumped by Chetry, and this time round, the stumper made no mistake, seeking redemption in the same game. By the time she got out, Brits had already scored 52 off 39 balls, and provided the Proteas with a much-needed momentum, as they ended the first innings with 177/6 after 20 overs.