INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE | LSG’S1 RUN VS KKR IS THE LOWEST TEAM TOTAL IN SUPER OVER IN IPL HISTORY
MATCHES TODAY – PUNJAB KINGS VS RAJASTHAN ROYALS AT 7:30 PM
Angkrish Raghuvanshi became only the fourth player in 19 years of the IPL to be given out obstructing the field, against LSG on Sunday. And despite all the remonstrations from the batter and the KKR coaching staff, the third umpire Rohan Pandit was spot on with his decision.
That the deliberations in the decision-making process were heard live on the broadcast was actually an educative experience for those willing to learn. Pandit didn’t burden himself with questions of intent, but was instead bothered with establishing only two fairly objective events: did Raghuvanshi change direction significantly and did he do it without probable cause? Once the answer to both these questions was yes, Pandit didn’t really have a choice.
In fact, Pandit went beyond the letter of the law to give Raghuvanshi every chance of surviving. He even checked if the batter was watching the line of the throw to rule out lack of “probable cause”. He might even have allowed Raghuvanshi probable cause had he not been aware of the probable path of the throw.
The relevant part of the law seems to have been deleted from the MCC website by what is likely an accident, but the IPL 2026 playing conditions have retained it. Clause 37.1.4 says: “For the avoidance of doubt, if an umpire feels that a batter, in running between the wickets, has significantly changed his direction without probable cause and thereby obstructed a fielder’s attempt to effect a run out, the batter should, on appeal, be given out, obstructing the field. It shall not be relevant whether a run out would have occurred or not.”
Sanjay Bangar and Carlos Brathwaite make a good point that you can’t expect a batter to make a 180-degree turn, and that there is bound to be a natural turning radius. However, there still was significant change in direction in addition to the turning radius.
Raghuvanshi’s last step towards the non-striker’s end was bang in the middle of the pitch, in line with the stumps. (Agencies)
