New Zealand v Sri Lanka 2022/23

Zing bail glitch saves Sri Lanka batter after bails fail to light up during run out attempt

by Wisden Staff March 25, 2023 - 8:15am 2 minute read

The zing bails were in the spotlight once again in the first NZ-SL ODI at Eden Park as they failed to light up in time during a run-out attempt, saving Chamika Karunaratne amidst a terrible Sri Lankan collapse which saw them get bowled out for 76.

New Zealand were bowled out for 274 in the first innings with three players – Finn Allen, Daryl Mitchell, and Rachin Ravindra – crossing 45. While it was a competitive score, Sri Lanka would have fancied themselves to come out and chase it down. It wasn’t to be though.

They got off to a poor start, losing both their openers in the first four overs. Kusal Mendis followed soon after a scratchy 16-ball duck. At 20-3, Sri Lanka needed Angelo Mathews and Charith Asalanka to stitch together a partnership. But it never came. Regular wickets saw them tumble from 31-3 to 57-8 in no time and the game was done and dusted by then.

Chamika Karunatne was batting with Lahiru Kumara for the ninth wicket when Karunaratne flicked a length delivery from Blair Tickner into the vacant mid-wicket region and set off looking for a double. Mid-way through the second run Karunaratne was sent back and in a desperate attempt to reach his crease, he dived full length.

Tickner meanwhile had collected the throw and had dislodged the stumps at the bowler’s end. Replays showed that by the time Tickner’s hands broke the stumps, Karunaratne was short of his crease. But the zing bails did not light up immediately on contact. By the time they did, Karunaratne’s momentum from his dive had got him across the line.

The third umpire, going by the moment the bails eventually lit up, declared Karunratne not out, much to the surprise of everyone involved, including the batter himself. “There was separation between bail and stump there. He was walking off, Chamika. He knew he was out. I don’t understand that decision,” said the commentator.

The New Zealand fielders huddled around the on-field umpire and were seen in discussion regarding the same for some time after the decision. The bails were in the news earlier in the day as well when Finn Allen was apparently bowled off a Kasun Rajitha peach, but they decided not to fall, giving Allen a reprieve.

Spark Sport, the official broadcaster of this series put out a tweet with the caption “Not out due to dead battery.”