[WATCH]: Virat Kohli fumes as Digvesh Rathi mankads Jitesth Sharma
Watch how Virat Kohli reacted in anguish when Rathi attempted to mankad Jitesh Sharma during a crucial juncture of the run chase.
It was a night of action-packed cricket at the EKNA Stadium between RCB and LSG, which was nothing but a dead rubber. Although LSG had no hopes of making any further progress in the tournament, it was a must-win fixture for RCB as they needed to finish in the top two to avoid the Eliminator. The high-scoring thriller saw the ball flying to all parts. From Pant's blistering century to Jitesh Sharma's match-saving 85*, the crowd was thoroughly entertained right from the outset.
But controversy erupted during RCB's innings, which soon became a contentious talking point, leaving the fans divided. It was the same-old makad dismissal that became a point of friction between the two sides. At a time when the partnership between Jitesh and Mayank was blossoming nicely, Rathi resorted to dismissing Jitesh at the non-striker's end as he saw him backing up too far. A mankad dismissal was executed by Rathi at the bowler's end, and the decision was soon sent upstairs.
See also: [WATCH] Anushka and VK trade flying kisses as RCB thrash LSG at EKNA
The TV umpire concluded that Rathi had paused and not even completed his entire action before dislodging the bails at the bowler's end. As per prevailing rules, a bowler is only allowed to run the non-striker before the bowler completes his/her entire action, or before his/her arm goes past the release point. The ruling from the TV umpire was out, and he rightly adjudicated Jitesh not out on the basis of visual evidence. Furthermore, in a strange turn of events, while the decision was referred, LSG captain Rishab Pant came forward to withdraw the appeal.
Amidst all the drama, Virat's reaction went viral. The mankad dismissal left Virat visibly frustrated, and in the video given below, the chase master could be seen hurling a bottle out of frustration.
Watch the entire incident unfold:
Mankads are not unusual in modern-day cricket anymore, and the cash-rich league has seen a fair share of them over the years. Despite being well within the regulations, mankad dismissals do tend to cause a massive uproar within the cricketing community, with fans jostling to pick sides.
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