MCC has issued an official statement and concluded the long standing debate over the run out of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The third umpire accused the batsman of obstructing the field while running between the wickets and gave him out.
Was it a fair run-out? This question remained for many days. Now MCC has correctly interpreted the rules and clearly said that the umpire did not make any mistake by giving the run-out decision to Angkris Raghuvanshi.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi was accused of obstructing fielding
Raghuvanshi had to leave the field after scoring only 9 runs in 8 balls before the controversial moment, on the last ball of the fifth over of the first innings of KKR vs LSG at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, when the third umpire, after examining the incident on the monitor, found that the KKR batsman obstructed the field in an attempt to return safely to the crease.
Since he obstructed the fielding, according to the third umpire, the batsman was given out. KKR team management was very angry with the umpire’s decision. Some cricket fans on social media also shared their views on the incident.
MCC explains ‘obstructing the field’ rule
In a recently published article, the MCC confirmed that the umpire did what he needed to do to uphold the laws of cricket. When can a batsman be charged with obstructing fielding?
“Law 37.1.1 states that any batsman is out by obstructing the field if they deliberately attempt to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action.” This means the disruption may have been intentional, which may be difficult to determine,” MCC said.
When Angkrish Raghuvanshi tried to come back to the crease he made a mistake. When he went out to run, he was on the offside of the pitch. But, when he turned again to return to his end, he crossed the pitch and started running down the leg side. As he changed the direction of the pitch before the fielder bowled the ball, the umpire had no option but to consider it as obstruction in the field.
According to the MCC’s official interpretation of the Laws of Cricket, “A batsman who changes direction while running, especially one who changes direction in order to run across the pitch, or takes any other route which would not be the quickest route to the other end, is acting deliberately.”
“Angkrish Raghuvanshi clearly meets these criteria. When he goes out for runs, he is on the off side of the wicket,” the MCC official release further read.
“As the ball reaches the fielder, he rushes to the middle of the pitch, which is not a place where he should be running under any circumstances, and then turns and runs back down the leg side, placing himself between the ball and the wicket. This is, by definition, a deliberate act.”
KKR won the match against LSG through super over.
However, despite the early dismissal of Angkrish Raghuvanshi, KKR managed to win a thrilling match against Lucknow Super Giants. Both teams scored 155 runs in the stipulated over-limit, hence the match ended through Super Over.
KKR will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The Orange Army is the most in-form team in the competition as they are on a five-match winning streak.
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