Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has criticized the umpire’s decision to rule out Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Virat Kohli in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 against Kolkata Knight Riders lashed out. Kohli is in red-hot form with two towering sixes in 18 games. He bowled 7 balls as RCB chased 223 balls. A full delivery by Harshit Rana initially looked like a beam as he was caught and bowled in the third over at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Kaif expressed his views on the decision and said the ball was an “unbeatable beam ball” and “bad umpiring” while referring to the match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Lucknow Super Giants. MS Dhoni’s decision during the match when the ball came under Dhoni’s bat but it went out of the crease.
“Clearly unplayable beam got Kohli out, the ball came under Dhoni’s bat and the ball was declared wide. Cameras, replays, technology, but still mistakes like this are made. Poor umpire,” Kaif said at X reads.
An obviously unbeatable beam saw Kohli out and the ball coming off Dhoni’s bat was declared wide. Cameras, replays, technology, but mistakes like this still happen. Poor referee. pic.twitter.com/NGqxdbIHPl
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 22, 2024
RCB’s marquee batsman was not amused after being dismissed by the on-field umpire and referred the decision to the third umpire.
After replay, a third referee upheld the on-field decision and ruled him out. Virat was furious at being dismissed and was seen protesting on the field and started angrily walking away while the Knight Riders cheered.
Virat was seen charging at an on-field umpire and contesting his dismissal before storming back. As he rushed back to the pavilion, the batsman was seen smashing the willow tree to the ground and hitting the bin with his glove, causing it to tip over.
After Kohli’s dismissal, RCB also lost captain Faf Du Plessis (7 runs) early on while chasing 223 balls. Will Jacks (55 off 32 balls with four boundaries and five sixes) and Rajat Patidar (52 off 23 balls with three fours and five sixes) helped RCB bounce back. But their efforts were not enough for RCB to seal the victory.
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