A Nepal U19 player was run out in bizarre circumstances, leaving his crease after being bowled off a no-ball, during a one-run loss to Afghanistan U19 in the second Youth ODI.
Nepal U19 batter Dhruv Sonar, in at No.8, was left fighting with last-man Bipin Sharma in a tense final over. Chasing 169, the side was down to 158-9 when the 50th over began. Dhruv hit Mahboob Khan for two fours off the first three balls, bringing the equation down to three needed off three.
2nd Youth ODI, Nepal Under-19 vs Afghanistan Under-19
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- Ball by ball Over
Off the next ball, Mahboob cleaned up Sonar, but the umpire called no-ball. Sonar, presumably unaware that it was no-ball, began to leave his crease thinking he was out. Wicketkeeper Khalid Ahmadzai acted promptly, running him out by uprooting an already disturbed stump. Nepal got a run from the no-ball, leaving them one run short of Afghanistan's total.
Looking at the footage, it's clear Sonar did not spot the umpire's no-ball call at all. Confusion also erupted as the Nepal dug-out began celebrating upon seeing the call of no-ball – before realising that Sonar had been given run out.
Could the batter have been saved under the misapprehension law?
According to Law 31.7, a batter can be ruled not out if the umpire feels he is under a misapprehension of being given out. Here is the exact wording:
"An umpire shall intervene if satisfied that a batter, not having been given out, has left the wicket under a misapprehension of being out. The umpire intervening shall call and signal Dead ball to prevent any further action by the fielding side and shall recall the batter."
"A batter may be recalled at any time up to the instant when the ball comes into play for the next delivery, unless it is the final wicket of the innings, in which case it should be up to the instant when the umpires leave the field."
In this instance, neither umpire signalled a dead ball, and a further action had already been made by the fielding side. Also, the umpires did not act any further, pronouncing him out after checking the replays and bringing the match to a close – indicating that they did not see sufficient reason to recall Sonar for the reason of misapprehension.
Afghanistan were well within their rights to uproot the stumps and appeal for run out, as they did, since there was no confirmation that the ball was dead.
Image credit: YouTube / Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN)
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