India women's team were involved in a bizarre runout controversy in their Women's T20 World Cup 2024 opener against New Zealand in Dubai.
The incident involving NZ all-rounder Amelia Kerr left everyone wondering what had happened, including the likes of India men's team all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin.
NZ, who won the toss, elected to bat first in this opening group stage clash and ended up scoring 160/4 in their 20 overs but not without a measure of controversy involving Kerr.
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So what exactly happened with the White Ferns star? The Sporting News explains.
Amelia Kerr runout controversy in IND vs NZ: What happened?
NZ were 97/2 after 13.5 overs, with Kerr and Sophie Devine setting the team up for an assualt in the death overs.
In the last ball of the 14th over by Deepti Sharma, Kerr knocked it to deep extra cover and ran a single. Then just as India captain Harmanpreet Kaur fielded and then walked in with the ball, they tried to take a second run and Kaur immediately threw the ball to the wicketkeeper's end.
Kerr was caught short of her ground even as Richa Ghosh broke the stumps. Indian fielders began to celebrate and Kerr started walking off, accepting the fact that she was run out.
However, the fourth umpire stopped Kerr and asked her to return to the crease. Turns out, the umpires Anna Harris and Jacqueline Williams had called over in the middle of the second run and deemed that the ball was dead.
The protests from the Indian players fell on deaf ears and Kerr was allowed to carry on.
Whose fault is that? R Ashwin reacts to Kerr runout incident
Star India spinner Ashwin was quick to react to the incident, wondering on X (formerly Twitter) whose fault it was that Kerr's runout was deemed illegal.
However, Ashwin deleted the post later.
When does a ball become dead as per ICC rules?
The laws state that when the ball becomes dead is something that the bowler's end umpire can interpret.
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The exact law is as follows:
The ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler's end umpire that the fielding side and both batsmen at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play. Whether the ball is finally settled or not is a matter for the umpire alone to decide.
In this case, since the New Zealand batters were looking to sneak an extra run, India were within their rights to protest the decision. However, the umpires saw it differently.
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