IPL 2019: Mankads, spirit of cricket, no-balls, and some (actual) cricket
One week into IPL 2019 and the tournament has seen one controversial dismissal, one overlooked no-ball that could have had a tangible impact on the result, invocation of the Spirit of Cricket, and a few excellent games of T20 cricket.
From Royal Challengers Bangalore's capitulation to some excellent spin bowling by Chennai Super Kings in the first game to Sunrisers Hyderabad's Rashid Khan coolly hitting a six to win the game against Rajasthan Royals, this week has seen the best fusion of cricket and entertainment. There have been some good matches and some captivating drama, courtesy Ravichandran Ashwin and umpire S Ravi.
Here is a brief recap of everything that happened in the first week of IPL 2019: the cricket, as well as the controversies.
Mankad, outrage and the MCC's confusion
Ravichandran Ashwin's run-out of Jos Buttler overshadowed what was a fine batting performance by Kings XI Punjab. Chris Gayle scored 79(47) and Sarfaraz Khan scored 46*(29) to help them post a strong total while batting first.
Replays showed that Buttler had walked out of the crease while Ashwin was loading his bowling action before Ashwin turned around and knocked the bails off. Legally, Buttler was run out, but the outrage that the dismissal sparked bordered on the ridiculous and vindictive.
Pundits such as Michael Vaughan and English batsmen such as Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan rushed to Buttler's defense, calling out Ashwin for going against the spirit of cricket. To confuse things further, the MCC initially stated that the dismissal was legal before flipping and stating that Ashwin's actions weren't in line with the spirit of cricket.
In reality though, this was more a problem with the enforcement of rules than it was with the spirit in which the game is played. If Virat Kohli had been dismissed this way, he would still be out under the existing rules (to answer Vaughan's what-if situation).
S Ravi's umpiring gaffe
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) needed 7 runs off the last ball against Mumbai Indians and managed just one. But overlooked was the fact that Lasith Malinga had overstepped significantly, and yet it wasn't called a no-ball.
This sparked some more outrage, with Kohli fuming that the umpiring was of a lower standard than what was expected at the IPL and that an extra ball could have made a difference. Scarcely talked about in the aftermath were RCB's death bowling concerns and the lack of runs from batsmen not named Kohli or AB de Villiers.
Mumbai Indians themselves will be relieved that Jasprit Bumrah is bowling without any discomfort, but would want their middle order to step up. It is still early days in the season, but this is an area they would want some more confidence in.
Andre Russell, MVP
Andre Russell single-handedly won Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad with an innings of 49*(19), in a match that was otherwise notable for David Warner's return after a year (he scored 85 off 53).
Russell then returned a similar performance against Kings XI Punjab with 48(17), but could have been dismissed much earlier: Mohammed Shami bowled him when he was 3(5), but the ball was ruled a no-ball because Punjab had one fielder less inside the circle. KKR went on to win the match by 28 runs to join Chennai Super Kings as the only teams with 2 wins from 2 matches.
Rishabh Pant impressed for Delhi Capitals with 78(27) against Mumbai Indians in their first match and Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada impressed with 2 wickets each, but the team might want to consider some changes to bring more balance to the side. Chris Morris's return will be useful in that regard.