Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja became the third player in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be given out for ‘obstructing the field’, after Yusuf Pathan and Amit Mishra.
Chennai Super Kings made a successful run chase of 142 runs, with 10 balls to spare against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), as Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed controversially, for five runs in seven balls.
The incident took place on the penultimate ball of the 16th over when the India all-rounder dabbed the ball to the third man and looked for a single. Ravindra Jadeja was halfway down the track for the second run when Ruturaj Gaikwad sent him back.
Meanwhile, the wicket-keeper and the Royals captain Sanju Samson threw ball the towards the bowling end. The ball hit the stumps, as the Royals appealed to the third umpire to confirm whether the left-handed batter changed his direction while running on the pitch.
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‘Ravindra Jadeja did try and turn around’ – Michael Hussey
The replays showed that the Ravindra Jadeja was on the left side of the screen when he turned back, but while he was running, he changed the direction and came on the right side. The third umpire Anil Kumar Chaudhary examined a few angles before ruling the batter out.
Undoubtedly, Jadeja wasn’t impressed at all with the decision, as the CSK fans became stunned inside the stadium.
Coming at the post-match press conference, CSK batting coach Micheal Hussey tried to stay neutral, and spoke about the both sides of the story, but was unsure about the call from the third umpire.
“Well, I have only had time to have a quick look at it during the game. I didn’t have a close look at it. He did try and turn around, so I guess that’s changing the angle,” the former Australia batter Michael Hussey expressed.
“But he didn’t try and change angle while he was running back. I can see both sides of the story. I can see a story where he had to turn around, so he changed his angle a little bit,” he added.
In the past, something like that too happened with Ravindra Jadeja against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in this season, when the batter was stuck by Bhuvneshwar Kumar on his back while running straight in the stump line. Pat Cummins, the SRH decided not to appeal on that occasion.
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“But he didn’t try and change direction while he was running back. I can understand, the umpire has made his decision. The rule says you can’t change your direction.’ The CSK batting coach noted. ‘Maybe it was a fair call. I am not sure,” Michael Hussey said at the press conference after the match.
Chennai Super Kings are at the third position of the points table with seven wins in 13 games at a net run rate (NRR) of +0.528. They will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their next game on May 18, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.