IPL 2023: What is the 3-metre rule that was ignored during Rohit Sharma's controversial lbw dismissal?

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma's time on the field was cut short by Wanindu Hasaranga during the 54th match of the IPL 2023 when the five-time champions locked horns with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The third umpire's lbw call on Rohit's dismissal was questioned by many fans, given the fact that the skipper was way ahead of the stumps and the 3-metre rule was ignored.

Former India cricketers Munaf Patel and Mohammad Kaif shared a picture of Rohit's dismissal, which showed that the skipper was 3.7 metre far from the stumps, which as per rule should have been declared not-out. Rohit too was flabbergasted when the decision was not given in his favour after RCB decided to use the DRS. 

"Lagta he ab DRS b DRS hona chahye, Unlucky," Munaf captioned his post while sharing Rohit's picture from the dismissal, which proved that the batter was too far from the stumps. 

Munaf Patel@munafpa99881129

Lagta he ab DRS b DRS hona chahye, Unlucky #RohitSharma Kya bolti public, ye Out he ya nai ?? #MIvRCB #IPL2023

12:10 AM · May 10, 2023

9.3K1.3K

"Hello DRS, yeh thoda jyada nahi ho gaya? How can this be lbw?," said Kaif raising concern over the controversial dismissal.

Mohammad Kaif@MohammadKaif

Hello DRS, yeh thoda jyada nahi ho gaya? How can this be lbw?

11:47 PM · May 09, 2023

21.9K3.7K

A similar incident took place recently, when India and Australia locked horns in the four-match Test series, the Border Gavaskar Series, earlier this year. In the fourth Test match at Ahmedabad, Shubman Gill was adjudged not-out by the umpire as the 3-metre rule came into the scenario. 

The distance the ball travelled before hitting the stumps was more than three metres at the point of impact when it struck Gill's pad. The third umpire also upheld the ruling in Gill's favour due to the three-metre rule because Gill was far forward and the ball had to go more than three metres to make any contact with the stumps.

While this rule was applicable during the Test, it did not come into play during the IPL 2023 contest between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, that took place on May 9, Tuesday. 

The IPL Playing Conditions' Appendix D addresses umpire and DRS reviews. According to Clause 3.4.6.4 of Appendix D, in the following situations, a not out judgement can be upheld even if the ball was pitched in line or outside off, hit the batter in line with the stumps or appeared to be headed towards the stumps.

“Where the evidence shows that the ball was hitting, the point of first interception was in line, and the ball pitched in line or outside off, but that: the point of first interception was 300cm or more from the stump, or the point of first interception was more than 250cm but less than 300cm from the stumps and the distance between the point of pitching and the point of first interception was less than 40cm, the on-field decision shall stand (that is, Not out).”

As Kaif and Patel voiced their opinion on the issue, fans too supported them, thereby bashing the decision-makers. While one of the users commented "They are relying more on Artificial Intelligence of ball tracking vs Natural Intelligence of Umpires", another said "Let’s do a coaching class for DRS".

Nevertheless, Mumbai Indians won the game after chasing the 200-run target in just the 17th over of the game, thereby scripting history. The game went down in history books as MI completed the fastest ever 200+ run chase in the history of IPL. Suryakumar Yadav's blitzkrieg followed by Nehal Wadhera's half-century helped the five-time champions clinch a victory and jump to the third place in the points table.