In an IPL match at the Eden Gardens, Digvesh Rathi of the Lucknow Super Giants controversially caught Finn Allen of the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Did Digvesh Rathi’s boot touch the rope?
Allen opened batting with captain Ajinkya Rahane after LSG captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to field. Mohammed Shami bowled an excellent first over, beating Allen’s bat thrice in a row before inducing the outside edge, albeit harmlessly.
Allen looked more in control against Prince Yadav at the other end, putting away consecutive short-of-length balls to the fence. Prince pitched the fourth ball outside the off, and it moved a touch away from Allen, who went for a swing but could only top-edge the ball.
As the ball descended towards the deep-third fence, Rathi ran to his left and took an excellent catch. The decision was accepted at that point without a referral, and the commentators (Harsha Bhogle, Faf du Plessis, and Murali Kartik) lauded Rathi’s effort in unison.
However, subsequent replays suggested that Rathi’s boot had been very close to the cushions on the boundary ropes, even slightly hinting that a cushion might have moved, albeit slightly. By then, Allen had been back in the pavilion.
Extensive replays displayed later only added to the confusion as fans and experts were divided in their opinions on the fairness of the catch.
Match 15, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Allen’s wicket reduced KKR to 15-1 after 1.4 overs, but Rahane (41 in 23 balls at the time of writing) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (42 in 29) took them to 98-1 after 10 overs. It is worth a mention that Cameron Green is available to bowl tonight, which almost certainly prompted KKR to replace fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani with an extra batter in Rovman Powell.
