Whenever there is the Indian Premier League (IPL), it is sure to be known that there will be drama and controversies. Keeping up with its reputation, IPL 2022 witnessed its first umpiring controversy during the clash of two former champions SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Tuesday (March 29).
It was SRH skipper cum opener Kane Williamson's cheap dismissal in the second over of Hyderabad's innings which raised many eyebrows.
RR pacer Prasidh Krishna had bowled back of a length ball around off and Williamson poked it. The outside edge flies to the right of Rajasthan wicketkeeper Sanju Samson who dived and went for a one-handed catch.
Slow motion footage of Kane Williamson controversy out decision.#IPL #IPL2022 #RRvsSRH #NotOut #TataIPL #Cricket
Video credit:-@IPL pic.twitter.com/AzNdoPWdWX
— CricketO (@CricketO22) March 29, 2022
However, the ball popped up and Padikkal, who was standing at first slip, showed great reflex to dive forward and snaffle with both hands inches above the ground.
But, Williamson was not convinced with the catch as he urged the umpires to have a look, and they obliged by referring it upstairs. The third umpire checked it through a couple of angles, as the visuals indicated that the ball might have bounced before Padikkal completed the catch.
However, despite being unclear if the catch was clean, the third umpire ruled it in favour of the fielding team which caused a massive uproar among netizens as they slammed the third umpire for the decision. Check some of the reactions here:
SRH to Third Umpire:
"KANE WASN'T OUT!!!!!"#SRHvRR #RRVSRH #IPL #IPL2022 #KaneWilliamson #RajasthanRoyals #SunrisersHyderabad #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/Q4Ac0mwnau
— Vaishnavi Iyer (@Vaishnaviiyer14) March 29, 2022
Poor umpiring or something fishy don't know what it is but it really takes some guts to give such poor decisions by 3rd umpire when ball clearly bounced. Even someone on 480p can tell that it is bounced before caught. How the hell is this frekin out?#SRHvsRR #KaneWilliamson #IPL pic.twitter.com/RtNilqF31O
— Prakhar Sharma (@prakhar_333) March 29, 2022
There was a clear bounce in my opinion. #KaneWilliamson was clearly not out.. Poor decision by third umpire #IPL #SRHvRR
— Fantasy Sports Spy (@fantasy_spy) March 29, 2022
Kane Williamson was clearly not out. Very unfair decision by 3rd umpire. #IPL2022 #SRHvRR #unfairdecision #KaneWilliamson
— Sakshi Thakur (@SakshiThakur04) March 29, 2022
Kane williamson was not out , Stupid 3rd Umpire. #SrhvsRR #ipl #kanewilliamsonnotout
— Vaibhav Londhe (@VaibhavLondhe90) March 29, 2022
Ek Tappa Out
New rule in IPL ??#hotstar#IPL#KaneWilliamson#SRHvRR pic.twitter.com/HYj6Of7rUA
— KP 3007 (@Kiran_Puthran) March 29, 2022
Kane Williamson to 3rd Umpire@SunRisers #IPL #RRVSRH #Oscars2022 pic.twitter.com/kmyA1lV0v6
— fast_and_curious (@Aaryan8881) March 29, 2022
Earlier, riding on brilliant attacking knocks by skipper Sanju Samson (55 off 27), Devdutt Padikkal (41 off 29) and a late cameo by Shimron Hetmyer (32 off 13), Rajasthan Royals posted 210-6 against Sunrisers Hyderabad after they were asked to bat first.
Apart from the trio of Samson, Padikkal and Hetmyer, Jos Buttler (35 off 28) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (20 off 16) also made valuable contributions with the bat.
