Third umpire Gayatri Venugopalan’s disputed run-out calls disrupted an exciting finale in the match between the Delhi Capitals and the Mumbai Indians when the former won off the final ball. Shikkha Pandey was involved in the 18th over, Radha Yadav was involved in the 19th over, and Arundhati Reddy ran a brace to seal the victory on the final ball. These were the three run-out cases in this case.
When the ball lighted the stumps after Pandey and Reddy’s run-outs, it seemed as though there was no bat behind the line. However, when the LED stumps were illuminated during the decision-making process, third umpire Venugopalan used the premise that the bail had to be fully removed from the stumps for the wickets to be deemed broken as well.
Although television footage showed her bat in the air even after the bails were removed, MI felt unfairly treated because Yadav had hit the ball to the backward point in an attempt to race for a nonexistent single and was saved by a full-stretch dive. She hit a six off the very next ball to reduce the gap to 10 runs off the final over, making MI feel even worse.
Even the Mumbai Indians captain, Harmanpreet Kaur, was surprised by the decision which went in favour of Pandey and she immediately had a chat with the on-field umpires to understand the call. But she didn’t argue much regarding the subsequent two run-out chances during the game.
However, clause 4.2 in Appendix D which is associated with the Decision Review System and Third Umpire Protocol in the WPL Playing Conditions states that “where LED Wickets are used the moment at which the wicket has been put down (as per clause 29.1) shall be deemed to be the first frame in which the LED lights are illuminated and subsequent frames show the bail permanently removed from the top of the stumps.”
ALSO READ: WPL 2025: Top 5 Team Rivalries Of WPL To Look Forward To This Season
Clause 29.1 of the Playing Conditions shares that the wicket is ‘put down’ or ‘broken’ when “the wicket is broken when at least one bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, one or more stumps is removed from the ground.”
This also shows that the stumps were considered to be broken at that time when the stumps were lit up by the ball. And as long as the bails were dislodged in subsequent frames, the first frame where the ball lights up the stumps would be the deciding frame for the TV umpire as well. This shows that Shikha Pandey and Arundhati Reddy were both short of their crease.
After the game between Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, former cricketers Stacy-Ann King and Mithali Raj opined on the Pandey and Yadav run-out incidents as well.
Stacy-Ann King and Mithali Raj share their views on the controversial run-outs during Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals game:
“The direct hits that were reviewed, it just showed almost as though she’s on the line whilst the stumps were broken. So that decision, I think all of us on comms were just thinking that is out, but the umpire knows best, the umpire’s decision was final, she said not out and it was sort of a costly not out decision from that situation and then, of course, this run out of Radha Yadav. So it just became two chances that could have turned the game around, and it could have been over a lot earlier,” said King.
However, Mithali Raj was more perplexed about how Radha Yadav survived and said that her bat was never on the ground in the first place as well.
“I know for a fact that when you dive and your bat first is in the ground and then it lifts because you have dived full stretch, then that’s not out…[Here] You can see that the blade of the bat is up. It’s nowhere touching any part of the ground, that side of the crease. So that means to say it is out. She’s never, the bat was never in the crease,” she stated.
However, the interpretation of the rules by Venugopalan left the veterans Lisa Sthalekar and Mike Hesson shocked as well.
Have misunderstood the rules? Were those 2 run outs…out? 🤷🏽♀️#WPL
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) February 15, 2025
Sthalekar took to her official X handle, posted: “Have misunderstood the rules? Were those 2 run outs…out?”
Not sure why the umpire tonight has decided that the zinger bails are not applicable? Once bails lights up connection is lost therefore wicket is broken! That is in the playing conditions! Have seen more confusion in last 10 mins than ever before 🤷♂️#WPL2025 #MIvDC #wpl #runout
— Mike Hesson (@CoachHesson) February 15, 2025
Former New Zealand coach Hesson, meanwhile, said: “Not sure why the umpire tonight has decided that the zinger bails are not applicable? Once bails lights up connection is lost therefore wicket is broken! That is in the playing conditions! Have seen more confusion in last 10 mins than ever before.”
Click Here to get the latest news related to Women’s Cricket. You can also check about Match predictions here. Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates.
