IPL 2018: Top 5 Umpiring bloopers in the league stage

The standards of umpiring in the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been marred by poor umpiring as the men on duties haven’t been up to scratch. The number of errors has increased as the tournament has passed. The Decision Review System (DRS) was earlier introduced in the league and has come to the rescue to the cricketers.

A number of decisions have been reversed courtesy of the newly adopted technology and the replays have exposed the blunders. Shavir Tarapore, the former International umpire previously mentioned the mishaps and part of the sport. There have several errors from the umpires out which we present you the top five.

#1 Rishabh Pant LBW

The penultimate match of the round-robin phase between the Delhi Daredevils (DD) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) was a witness to a poor piece of umpiring. In the second ball of the 16th over, Hardik Pandya bowled a full-pitched delivery which struck Rishabh Pant’s pads. Pandya appealed and umpire CK Nandan obliged by raising his finger

Pant didn’t waste any time whatsoever in taking the Decision Review System (DRS). Replays showed that the ball pitched was outside the leg-stump and there was enough evidence to overturn the umpire’s decision. The left-handed batsman went on to add eight more runs to and was eventually dismissed by Krunal Pandya for 64 runs off 44 balls.

#2 Kane Williamson- Waist height full toss

The incident took place in the match between the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. In the second ball of the 16th over, Shardul Thakur bowled a full-toss and Kane Williamson pulls it to square leg for a single. The delivery seemed suspicious and above the waist.

However, there were no movements from Vineet Kulkarni- the on-field umpire. Replays showed that the ball was clearly above the waistline. Subsequently, the SRH skipper was denied an extra delivery and a free-hit thereafter. The decision was crucial in the context of the match and the hosts went on to lose the match by a slender margin of four runs. Williamson scored 84 runs off 51 balls.

#3 Tom Curran- no ball

During the match between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the iconic Eden Gardens, another poor display of umpiring was seen. The penultimate delivery of 16th over FROM Tom Curran was declared a no-ball by umpire KN Anantha Padmanabhan. The decision somewhat irked the KKR players. Dinesh Karthik had a word with the umpire and Curran wanted to review the no-ball.

Replays revealed that Curran’s left foot landed inside the bowling crease and slid quite a few extents and ended outside the crease. However, the umpire couldn’t spot it and raised his arm. Albeit the extra delivery went for a single, the blunder by the umpire raised many eyebrows. Thereafter, he was a recipient of a fair amount of flak on the social media platforms.

#4 Shane Watson LBW decision

Another umpiring howler took place in a match between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Delhi Daredevils (DD) at the MCA Stadium in Pune. In the very first ball of the match, Trent Boult bowled an in-swinging delivery, which seemed to have caught Shane Watson plumb in front. The Daredevils appealed in unison, but it was turned out by the umpire.

Thereafter, the visiting team resorted to the Decision Review System (DRS). The third umpire had a close look from every angle possible. However, he gave the benefit of the doubt went to Watson. The decision went on to cost Delhi to a significant extent as the Australian batsman scored 78 runs off 40 balls with four boundaries and seven sixes.

#5 Wrong replay

In the match between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Wankhede Stadium, a bizarre umpiring mistake came to the fore. Jasprit Bumrah piled on the agony for the visitors as he got rid of Umesh Yadav to pick up the eighth wicket. However, the umpires stopped Yadav and went to the third umpire to check the legitimacy of the delivery

Replays showed that Bumrah’s foot was well within the bowling crease and it wasn’t even close to being a no-ball. Subsequently, Umesh had to walk back. Meanwhile, in the replays, the dismissed batsman was at the non-striker’s end. Though the decision didn’t make much of an impact as far as the match’s result was concerned, the blooper was greeted with flak by the public.