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In Match 56 of IPL 2022 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), another controversial decision by the umpires was witnessed. The captain of MI, Rohit Sharma was given out for a score of 2 off 6 in the first over of the 2nd innings.
KKR fast bowler Tim Southee bowled an in-swinging good-length delivery, which brushed off the pads of Sharma, and was caught by the wicket-keeper Sheldon Jackson in a terrific fashion. The bowling team appealed for a catch, but the on-field umpire was confident enough to term it as not-out.
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However, KKR took a DRS review, and the ultra-edge showed a major spike ahead of the ball meeting the bat and was maintained until it passed the willow as well. According to the rules, if the spike is seen during the contact, the decision will certainly be in favour of the bowlers.
While the umpire deemed it out, fans were divided on social media. When SportsTiger asked fans to give their opinion, a user commented "Its clearly a not out." Meanwhile, another wrote: "See kkr fans will say out mi fans will say not out so...."
Having said that, the decision certainly came as a shocker to Sharma and was frustrated with the decision, as he didn’t feel any contact with his bat. His early dismissal again put MI under pressure in the powerplay overs. The middle-order could not respond well, with the experienced Kieron Pollard again failing to provide a contribution. The team’s highest run-scorer was Ishan Kishan with 51 off 43 balls. They were dismissed for a score of 113 and lost by 42 runs.
Earlier, KKR had a terrific start with openers Venkatesh Iyer (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (25) contributing a 60-run stand in the first 6 overs. Then Nitish Rana scored 43 off 26 and supported well to help the team in posting a target of 165 runs.
With 5 wins in 12 league matches, KKR has an outside chance of qualifying for the playoffs if they secure a victory in the remaining 2 matches. In their next league game, Knight Riders will be up against Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 14 at MCA Pune.