The match between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings turned on its head in a matter of overs. David Miller once again proved that he is not a spent force, fashioning an unlikely win for Gujarat.
Unlikely, because Chennai were denied five runs by an umpiring error, which may have cost them the match. Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja were given out when the ball had hit the bat and pad and one went to the boundary and the other a single in the 16th and 19th overs, respectively.
When the batters reviewed the decision, it was promptly reversed, but the runs were not added. Which means Chennai were deprived of five runs. And that may have made the difference since Gujarat won with a ball to spare. If the runs were added, Gujarat would have to score five more. Who knows, what the result would have been?
It is a case of batters or a team paying the penalty for the umpires’ fault? The argument is that the ball is dead when the umpire makes a decision. In such cases, the umpire’s decision is final and the runs wouldn’t matter. Here, since the umpires’ decision is overturned, it’s only fair that the runs are added to the batters.
Many ifs and buts
Cricket’s governing body should look into this aspect and find a way to allocate the legitimate runs to the batting team, if a decision is reversed, specifically on leg-before decisions.
Maybe, if the CSK were given the five runs, Miller could still hit the final delivery for a six ensuring a Gujarat win. But if he had failed, Chennai could win it. So it could have worked both ways.
There are many ifs and buts. The CSK fans have reason to be aggrieved. This is a problem that has to be addressed.
