IPL 2023: The 3-meter rule, that was ignored during Rohit’s disputed lbw dismissal

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma’s experience on the field was stopped by Wanindu Hasaranga during the 54th match of the IPL 2023 when the five-time champions clashed with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Many fans questioned the third umpire’s lbw decision regarding Rohit’s dismissal because the skipper was far ahead of the stumps and the 3-meter rule was not followed.

Former India cricketers Munaf Patel and Mohammad Kaif shared an image of Rohit’s excusal, which showed that the captain was 3.7 meter a long way from the stumps, which according to rules ought to have been pronounced not-out. Rohit also was confused when the choice was not given in that frame of mind after RCB chose to utilize the DRS.

Munaf captioned his post while sharing Rohit Sharma’s picture from the dismissal, which proved that the batter was too far from the stumps- 

Mohammad Kaif also raised concern over the controversial dismissal.

Similar circumstances occurred earlier this year when India and Australia competed in the Border Gavaskar Series, a four-match Test series. As the 3-meter rule came into play, the umpire ruled Shubman Gill not out in the fourth Test match at Ahmedabad.

At the point of impact, when the ball struck Gill’s pad, it traveled more than three meters before hitting the stumps. Because Gill was far ahead and the ball had to travel more than three meters to make any contact with the stumps, the third umpire also upheld the three-meter rule ruling in Gill’s favor.

This rule was in effect during the Test, but it was not used in the IPL 2023 match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday, May 9th.

Umpire and DRS reviews are discussed in Appendix D of the IPL Playing Conditions. In accordance with Clause 3.4.6.4 of Appendix D, even if the ball was pitched outside off or in line, hit the batter in line with the stumps, or appeared to be heading in that direction, a not out judgment may still be upheld in the following circumstances:

“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 300 cm or more from the stump, or the point of first interception was more than 250 cm but less than 300 cm from the stumps and the distance between the point of pitching and the point of first interception was less than 40cm, the on-field decision shall stand (that is, Not out).”

As Kaif and Patel voiced their opinion on the issue, fans too supported them, thereby bashing the decision-makers. 

While one of the users commented “They are relying more on Artificial Intelligence of ball tracking vs Natural Intelligence of Umpires”, another said “Let’s do a coaching class for DRS”.

Despite this, Mumbai Indians prevailed in the match after chasing the 200-run target in the 17th over, writing their name in cricket history. As MI completed the fastest 200-plus run chase in IPL history, the match went down in history. The five-time champions were able to secure a victory and move up to third place in the points table thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s blitzkrieg and Nehal Wadhera’s half-century.