SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) stole a win from the jaws of defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday, edging out Rajasthan Royals (RR) by a solitary run. With two needed off the last ball in a 202-run chase, Rovman Powell failed to connect with Bhuvneshwar Kumar's low full toss and was trapped LBW. While Powell quickly took a review, the decision was upheld later by the TV umpire. However, even if the West Indies all-rounder had managed to had been successful with his review, it would not have changed the outcome of the match.
For the unversed, as per ICC's playing conditions, the Appendix D rule suggests that the ball becomes dead once the umpire has signalled out.
"If following a Player Review request, an original decision of 'Out' is changed to 'Not Out', then the ball is still deemed to have become dead when the original decision was made. The batting side, while benefiting from the reversal of the dismissal, shall not benefit from any runs that may subsequently have accrued from the delivery had the on-field umpire originally," the law suggests.
While RR would've still lost the match had Powell's review had been successful, fans were left wondering the outcome of the match had he been given not out.
Sharing his views on the same, former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn took a leaf out of baseball's rule book to eradicate confusion in such scenarios.
"We need to basically play in baseball style. Consider the ball not dead until play has come to a stop. So essentially, run if you're the batting team and continue to field if you're the bowling team. Then we address the LBW or caught off no-ball etc after. Out if out, runs awarded if LBW or caught was not out," Steyn wrote in a post on X.
On the disappointing loss to SRH, RR captain Sanju Samson said after the game: "Knowing the nature of the IPL, you never win the game until you actually win the game."