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Controversial Umpiring Decision in IPL Match Leaves Fans Divided over Rohit Sharma's Dismissal

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During the landmark 1000th IPL match, umpires came under heavy fire for failing to spot a possible umpiring error that lead to the dismissal of Rohit Sharma under unfortunate circumstances. The on-field umpires failed to take notice of it and the TV umpire was not called upon to take a close inspection. Though, it appeared out to the naked eye, subsequent replays suggest that the dismissal may not have been a valid one. 

The incident took place during Mumbai's chase when Rohit was batting on 3. With a stiff target to chase, the birthday boy would have hoped to get his side to a rollicking start. But that wasn't to be as he was dismissed the last ball of the 2nd over by Sandeep Sharma who bamboozled him with an immaculate knuckleball on off stump line. The lack of pace deceived Rohit as he withdrew his bat at the very last minute and let that one kiss the top of off-stump. 



At first, the ball appeared to have brushed the off-stump bail. But soon after, several enraged fans took to social media to point out a potential umpiring flaw. In a video posted on social media, it seemed evident that the ball had marginally brushed the off-stump bail, unsettling it from the stumps and causing it to flash red. But the bail wasn't completely dislodged from the stumps. 

It was only a fraction of a second later when the RR skipper Sanju Samson collected the ball after it made the faintest contact with the off-stump bail. And while doing so, his gloves disturbed the bails again which lead to its complete removal. There was no review taken by Rohit nor did the umpire want to review it then as Mumbai lost a crucial wicket in the early stage of their chase only for fans to later point it out on Twitter.



Rohit's dismissal got the fans divided. Whilst some emphasized that Samson made no obvious mistake in effecting that dismissal. But many thought that the RR skipper engaged in suspicious activity behind the stumps. In such doubtful circumstances, this should have been referred to the third umpire. And with the latest advancements in DRS technology in recent times, this shouldn't have gone unnoticed. 

However, the error did not hurt the game as in the end, it was Mumbai Indians who triumphed over Rajasthan Royals in an epic nail-biting thriller. With last night's win, they have now bettered their rankings and their NRR and are currently placed at the number 7 spot in the points table.