Mohammad Rizwan survived getting out on the last ball of day three, after South Africa appealed for a hit wicket at Rawalpindi.
Pakistan, who scored 333 batting first, were 94-4 in their second innings, leading by 23 runs when the last ball of day three was bowled. Keshav Maharaj sent down a tossed-up delivery on the off-stump, which the batter, on 16 at that point, drove to the fielder at cover. As soon as he hit the ball, Rizwan knocked the stumps with his bat accidentally before walking towards the pavilion. The South Africa fielders immediately went up in appeal for ‘hit wicket’, but the umpire Sharfuddoula dismissed it quickly.
The Proteas, however, were animated: Replays showed that the fielder had not yet thrown the ball back to the keeper when Rizwan broke the bails. With the ball still in play, South Africa felt they had a late wicket as the ball was still in play.
However, the decision to rule him not out was the correct one.
2nd Test, Pakistan vs South Africa
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- Ball by ball Over
Why was Rizwan’s not-out hit-wicket decision the correct one?
MCC’s law 35.2 clarifies the circumstances under which a batter will be ruled not out in case of a hit wicket: “The striker is not out hit wicket if any of the following applies:
- it occurs after the striker has completed any action in receiving the delivery
- it occurs when the striker is in the act of running, other than setting off immediately for the first run
- it occurs when the striker is trying to avoid being run out or stumped
- it occurs when the striker is trying to avoid a throw in at any time
- the bowler after entering the delivery stride does not deliver the ball. In this case either umpire shall immediately call and signal Dead ball
- the delivery is a No ball
In Rizwan’s case, he struck the ball cleanly towards cover and, without attempting a run, hit the stumps with his bat while walking away. Since this happened after he had completed his stroke and there was no further batting or running action involved, it fell outside the situations listed under Law 35 that define a legitimate hit wicket dismissal.
As per Law 35.2, a batter cannot be given out if the wicket is broken after completing the act of playing the delivery. Therefore, Rizwan was correctly deemed not out despite the ball still being in play.
Watch the incident here:
Image credit: YouTube / Sports TV
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