IPL 2023: What is the 3-metre rule that was ignored during Rohit Sharma’s dismissal?
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma’s time on the field was cut short by Wanindu Hasaranga. The 54th match of the IPL 2023 saw the five-time champions locked horns with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The third umpire’s lbw call on Rohit’s dismissal was questioned by many fans. Given the fact that the skipper was way ahead of the stumps and the 3-metre rule was ignored.
Former India cricketers Munaf Patel and Mohammad Kaif shared a picture of Rohit’s dismissal. It showed that Rohit was 3.7 metre far from the stumps, which as per rule should have been not-out. Rohit too was flabbergasted when the decision was not given in his favour after RCB decided to use the DRS.
A similar incident took place recently, when India and Australia locked horns in the four-match Test series. In the fourth Test match at Ahmedabad, Shubman Gill was adjudged not-out by the umpire as the 3-metre rule came into the scenario.
The distance the ball travelled before hitting the stumps was more than three metres at the point of impact when it struck Gill’s pad. The third umpire also upheld the ruling in Gill’s favour due to the three-metre rule. Gill was far forward and the ball had to go more than three metres to make any contact with the stumps.
The IPL Playing Conditions’ Appendix D addresses umpire and DRS reviews. According to Clause 3.4.6.4 of Appendix D, in the following situations, a not out judgement can be upheld even if the ball was pitched in line or outside off, hit the batter in line with the stumps or appeared to be headed towards the stumps.
“Where the evidence shows that the ball was hitting, the point of first interception was in line, and the ball pitched in line or outside off, but that: the point of first interception was 300cm or more from the stump, or the point of first interception was more than 250cm but less than 300cm from the stumps and the distance between the point of pitching and the point of first interception was less than 40cm, the on-field decision shall stand (that is, Not out).”
As Kaif and Patel voiced their opinion on the issue, fans too supported them, thereby bashing the decision-makers. While one of the users commented “They are relying more on Artificial Intelligence of ball tracking vs Natural Intelligence of Umpires”, another said “Let’s do a coaching class for DRS”.
Nevertheless, Mumbai Indians won the game after chasing the 200-run target in just the 17th over of the game. The game went down in history books as MI completed the fastest ever 200+ run chase in IPL. Suryakumar Yadav’s blitzkrieg was followed by Nehal Wadhera’s half-century. It helped the five-time champions clinch a victory and jump to the third place in the points table.
