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DRS Chaos! Inglis Wicket Rekindles Nitin Menon-Hardik Pandya's IPL 2018 Controversy

Jatin

Nitin Menon [Source: @sohilkhan98130, @169inMelbourne/x.com]Nitin Menon [Source: @sohilkhan98130, @169inMelbourne/x.com]

Some moments in cricket come full circle and Sunday night in Ahmedabad was one of them. In a high-stakes IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 clash between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians, controversy came knocking again and guess who was in the thick of it? Nitin Menon and Hardik Pandya.

Inglis Wicket Reminds Fans Of 2018 Nitin Menon-Hardik Pandya Saga

The same duo from a spicy IPL 2018 moment were back in the headlines, this time for a Josh Inglis dismissal that has fans scratching their heads.

PBKS were in the hunt chasing 204 and Inglis was looking in fine touch with a brisk 38 off 20. Then came the penultimate ball of the 8th over from MI skipper Hardik. Short, outside off, Inglis went for the pull but only managed a top edge. Jonny Bairstow claimed the catch and went up immediately. Hardik, a touch late on the appeal, chimed in too.

Umpire Nitin Menon didn’t waste a second as his finger was up before MI could blink. Inglis reviewed instantly. The replay? A spike showed up on UltraEdge and the third umpire backed the on-field call. Inglis had to walk and PBKS were left with a hole in their middle order.

While MI fans were over the moon, Punjab supporters weren’t too pleased. The dismissal wasn’t exactly black and white and the speed with which Menon raised his finger brought back memories of another dramatic day in IPL history.

Throwback To Hardik Pandya’s Dismissal in IPL 2018

Rewind to 2018 at Wankhede. Mumbai were facing RCB. In the 19th over, Hardik nicked one off Chris Woakes. Menon raised his finger just as quickly but this time Hardik reviewed.

Even though replays showed a faint edge, the third umpire overturned it. That sent Virat Kohli into a frenzy. The then RCB skipper charged at the umpire, clearly unhappy and let his emotions spill out.

That match ended badly for RCB too. Kohli stood tall with a gutsy 92* off 62 balls, but no one else showed up. RCB fell short by 46 runs and MI got their first win of the season.

Coming to the present and here we are again with Menon, Hardik and DRS at the centre of a playoff drama. It’s funny how cricket has a way of stitching familiar faces into brand-new chapters. Whether it was the right call or not, Inglis’ wicket may prove to be the turning point in this knockout.

As of the 12-over mark, PBKS are 109/3 with Nehal Wadhera and captain Shreyas Iyer holding the fort. They will need something special to chase down 204 and make it to the final.