Rishabh Pant Leads Protest, Asks Batters To Come Off Over No-Ball Controversy

IPL 2022 produced yet another thrilling contest as Rajasthan Royals took on Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. Rajasthan Royals emerged victorious by 15 runs with Jos Buttler hitting his third century of the ongoing season. But the match made headlines for all the wrong reasons as emotions threatened to boil over after umpires didn't give what Delhi Capitals players and support staff thought was a waist-high no-ball. The match descended into complete farce as DC captain Rishabh Pant gesticulated wildly at the umpires. At one point, it even seemed that Pant was asking the two batters at the crease -- Rovman Powell and Kuldeep Yadav -- to return to the dug out. One of DC's assistant coaches Pravin Amre even stormed the field to speak to the umpires.

Better sense prevailed, though, as the match resumed after the chaotic scenes with Rajasthan Royals pacer Obed McCoy, who had been hit for three consecutive sixes, holding his nerves to give RR a 15-run win.

Earlier, RR, put into bat, posted 222 for two thanks largely to a stupendous century from Jos Buttler, his fourth overall in the IPL and third of the current season. Devdutt Padikkal scored a fine 54 off 35 balls while captain Sanju Samson blasted a 19-ball 46.

In reply, Prithvi Shaw and David Warner got off to a fast start but DC kept losing at regular intervals. Pant top-scored for his team with 44 off 24 balls. RR pacer Prasidh Krishna bowled a wicket-maiden in the 19th over to leave DC needing 36 runs off the final over.

West Indian power-hitter Powell smashed McCoy for three consecutive sixes to give DC a glimmer of hope but all that momentum was lost when DC decided to protest against the no-ball not being given.

McCoy delivered a waist-high full-toss which Powell and all the DC players and support staff in the dugout thought was a sure shot no-ball. As chaos ensued, another DC assistant coach Shane Watson was seen having a few words with Pant before Amre came onto the field to speak to the umpires.

After the match, Watson said the sort of behaviour that was witnessed in the final over was not what Delhi Capitals stand for.

"Look, yeah it was very disappointing with what happened in that last over. We unfortunately were in that position in the game, we were not able to put things together for long enough in that game up until that point. In the end, what we at Delhi Capitals don't stand for is what happened. The umpire's decision, whether it is right or not, we have to accept it. And someone running on the pitch, we cannot accept it. It is not good enough," said Watson while replying to a NDTV query during the virtual post-match press conference.

Talking about the incident after the game, Delhi Capitals skipper Pant said: "I thought that no-ball could have been precious for us but it is not in my control. Yes, disappointed but can't do much about it. Everyone was frustrated (in the dugout) that it was not even close, everyone on the ground saw that, I think the third umpire should have interfered and said it was a no-ball. Obviously, it wasn't right (sending Amre onto the field) but what happened with us is also not right, it happened in the heat of the moment. It was the fault from both sides and it is disappointing as we have seen some good umpiring in the tournament."

Topics mentioned in this article

Delhi Capitals Rajasthan Royals IPL 2022 Rishabh Pant Pravin Amre Jos Buttler Shardul Thakur Cricket