Were Virat Kohli, RCB Right To Complain Over Jason Holder's Catch? Here's What The Rule Says
Virat Kohli was livid with the decision and engaged in an animated chat with a match official before Andy Flower also joined him to voice his concerns.
- RCB captain Rajat Patidar was dismissed by a controversial catch from Jason Holder against Gujarat Titans
- Virat Kohli and RCB coach Andy Flower disputed the catch, claiming that the ball touched ground as Holder slid
- Former cricketer Aakash Chopra cited Law 33.3, arguing Holder did not have complete control during the catch
RCB captain Rajat Patidar's dismissal against Gujarat Titans sparked chaos after Jason Holder took a controversial catch at deep backward square leg. The RCB dugout, including Virat Kohli and head coach Andy Flower, expressed their frustration over the call, suggesting that Holder wasn't in complete control of the catch and that the ball had touched the ground as he dived and slid. Kohli was livid with the decision and engaged in an animated chat with a match official before Flower also joined him to voice his concerns. However, the third umpire reviewed the catch and quickly gave Patidar his marching orders.
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra echoed their sentiments, questioning the legality of the catch on social media. Taking to the social media platform X, Chopra posted a video and cited the law to argue that Holder wasn't in complete control of the catch.
Clause 33.3, under Law 33 of the MCC Laws of Cricket, states: "The act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder's person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement."
Chopra spoke further on the controversy, arguing that while the umpires may know the rules better than he does, the television replays clearly showed the ball had touched the ground.
"My interpretation is that, and I know umpires will know better, he was in control when he took the catch, but when he dived and then slid, he was not exactly in control. When you stop, after that if you take the help of the ball to stand up, the catch will still count in my opinion, because the catch is completed by then. But that is not the case when you are sliding. And I felt - based on the visuals we all saw - the ball touched the ground. So maybe he was not out, but he was given out," Chopra said in a video posted.
Was Rajat Patidar OUT or NOT-OUT? #Aakaahvani #GTvsRCB #IPL pic.twitter.com/aTesD84RVz
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 30, 2026
Former India cricket Dodda Ganesh, on the other hand, slammed the umpires, blaming the decision for breaking RCB's momentum.
In this day and age decisions like Patidar's shouldn't happen with so much technology available. It was clearly grassed. How umpires thought otherwise is still a million dollar question. Spoiled RCB's momentum altogether #IPL2026
— Dodda Ganesh (@doddaganesha) April 30, 2026
"In this day and age, decisions like Patidar's shouldn't happen with so much technology available. It was clearly grassed. How umpires thought otherwise is still a million-dollar question. Spoiled RCB's momentum altogether," Ganesh posted on X.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Gujarat Titans
Virat Kohli
Jason Holder