Did the Decision Review System make a howler while judging Rohit Sharma’s lbw dismissal during the IPL 2023 match against RCB at the Wankhede?
The Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma certainly seemed to be left frustrated and agitated by the possible error in the Hawkeye.
There was a big controversy that erupted after MI skipper and opener Rohit Sharma’s dismissal in the RCB game in Mumbai. On the last ball of the 5th over by Wanindu Hasaranga, Rohit Sharma had skipped down the pitch and tried to work Hasaranga on the legside but missed the ball and it hit him on his pads.
While Hasaranga went up in a huge appeal, the umpire nodded. Even RCB skipper Faf du Plessis took a reluctant review and Rohit Sharma looked calmed, knowing that he’d came down the pitch and was all but certain to be saved.
The Hawkeye, however, showed three reds, including on hitting. What was, though, shocking to MI Skipper and many watching the game that the Impact also was ‘In line’ and it didn’t show ‘Over 3 meteres’ which the MI captain had perhaps been hoping for.
With a stunned look on his face, Rohit Sharma then had to take the long walk back but he continued looking on the giant screen for the Hawkeye to turn up again and perhaps show the ‘Over 3 metre’ indicator which would have been ‘Umpire’s call’ on Impact and Rohit would have been saved then.
However, the Hawkeye never showed the distance that Rohit Sharma had skipped down the pitch. This led to fans slamming the umpires and the DRS system for its ‘error’ in not taking into the account that Rohit had jumped a long way down the pitch.
What is the 3-metre rule in LBW in cricket?
“When a not-out decision is being reviewed, 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 stumps, the on-field decision shall stand (that is, not out),” said the rule.
This means that the umpire’s call of ‘Out’ Or ‘Not Out’ is taken into account whenever the Impact is found to be more than 3 meters. In Rohit’s case, however, the ball tracking didn’t show the distance, despite Rohit being a significant distance down the pitch.
On the other hand, this could also mean that perhaps Rohit Sharma was down the pitch by less than 3 metres and hence Hawkeye didn’t show the distance at all.
