What was the incident?

On the last ball of the 49th over, Kuldeep Yadav sent down a wrong’un to Theekshana, who stepped down the wicket and attempted a wild swing across the line. However, he missed completely as the ball nestled into Pant’s gloves.

The wicketkeeper, who is playing his first ODI since November 2022 and replaced KL Rahul in the XI on Wednesday, was casual and slow in removing the bails, which allowed Theekshana to ground his bat.

However, after grounding the bat, his bat bounced up just as Pant managed to whip off the bails. With the bat in the air when the stumps were broken, the third umpire signalled ‘Out’ on the big screen before immediately correcting it and giving a ‘Not out’ verdict.

Rishabh Pant is back!#IPL2024pic.twitter.com/tcsCC14Xij

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 23, 2024

Why was Theekshana not out?

According to Clause 30.1.2 in the MCC Playing Conditions, a batter shall not be considered out of their ground if, “in running or diving towards his/her ground and beyond, and having grounded some part of his/her person or bat beyond the popping crease, there is subsequent loss of contact between the ground and any part of his/her person or bat, or between the bat and person.”

In 2017, April Dinesh Chandimal had been run out despite grounding his bat initially, but when the ball broke the stumps, his bat and feet were in the air. Following the incident, the MCC allowed more leeway to the batters and amended how run-outs or stumpings should be judged.

Sri Lanka made 248-7 in the third ODI and now eye a win for their first ODI series win against India in men’s cricket in 27 years.

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