‘Thought it was out in real time’ – Eoin Morgan on Rahul Tripathi's controversial catch against PBKS

In a thrilling encounter, Punjab Kings defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by five wickets to keep their IPL 2021 playoff hopes alive. Although KL Rahul’s men were in command for the major part, the game went right down to the wire. One of the major talking points of the conteest was the umpire’s decision to adjudge Rahul Tripathi’s catch unclear. During the penultimate over of the match, PBKS skipper KL Rahul hit the ball towards deep mid-wicket.

However, the connection wasn’t proper and Tripathi collected the ball, claiming his diving catch was clean. The decision, subsequently, went upstairs and the third umpire gave a lifeline to the PBKS opener. Apparently, the umpire came to a conclusion that some part of the ball had hit the turf. Hence, it wasn’t a proper take.

As Rahul was well set in the middle, his dismissal could have changed the tempo of the game. Weighing on the same, many fans and experts slammed the third umpire for making the incorrect call. Notably, the official took a lot of time for giving his verdict. He even looked at several angles. At the end, the decision fell in Punjab’s favour.

The third umpire decided otherwise: Eoin Morgan

Speaking on the matter, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan reckoned the catch by Rahul Tripathi in “in real-time.”  The southpaw also feels poor fielding took the game away from them. “Initially we didn’t field as well, put catches down. Myself early too. We probably had a par score on the wicket. Kings played well, we fought back, but catches have cost us,” said Morgan during the post-match presentation.

“I thought in real-time that the Tripathi catch was out. But when you slow it down, the third umpire decided otherwise. We got on with it once he made his call. Hopefully, we play hard in the back end, get a few results and qualify into the playoff,” he added.

For the unversed, PBKS, in a chase of 166, needed 24 runs off the final three overs. Although this equation might not look daunting for batting sides, some tight bowling kept KKR interested. However, Shahrukh Khan scored a 9-ball 22, taking his side over the line with three balls to spare.