IPL 2019: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians clash marred by no-ball controversy

First, the Mankading controversy and now no-balls. The IPL 2019 tournament is fast being remembered for these events and it has raised questions on the standard of umpiring in the event. The match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians was poised on a knife-edge with AB de Villiers batting brilliantly. Jasprit Bumrah bowled two brilliant death overs, conceding just five runs in two overs while Lasith Malinga conceded a six in the first ball of the last over. With seven runs needed off one ball, Malinga bowled a low full toss and Shivam Dube, the batsman missed out and Mumbai Indians won the game by six runs to register their first win in this tournament.

However, when the players were shaking hands, replays showed that Malinga had overstepped and this led to sharp criticism regarding the standard of umpiring from both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the captains of both the franchises. Kohli was furious when he said, “We are playing at the IPL level. It's not club level, the umpires should have their eyes open. That was a big no-ball. We should have done a better job with the ball after they were seven down. The last few overs were brutal for us. Bit of a mistake from me to take Bumrah on at that time. Bumrah makes a hell of a difference in any team,” Kohli said.

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Even Rohit criticised the umpiring in the game. “I just got to know when we crossed the rope. Somebody just told me it was a no-ball. These kind of mistakes are not good for the game of cricket, it's pretty simple, the over before that. Bumrah bowled a ball which wasn't a wide ball. Those are game-changers,” Rohit said.

In the previous game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab at the Eden Gardens, Mohammed Shami bowled Andre Russell with a perfect yorker but that was declared a no-ball as there were only three fielders inside the circle for Kings XI Punjab. Russell made Kings XI Punjab pay and in the end, Kolkata Knight Riders emerged victors by 28 runs.

The Mankading controversy erupted in the IPL clash in Jaipur and this time, it involved Kings XI Punjab again. Jos Buttler was guiding Rajasthan Royals towards victory but Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin mankaded Buttler who was out of the crease and that led to a huge uproar. With these two no-balls and especially the umpiring in the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians game, IPL 2019 has suddenly come alive.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Mumbai Indians won the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs.
• The no-ball was not spotted by the umpire which led to criticism.
• Royal Challengers Bangalore lost their second game in IPL 2019.