Chasing 173 for a place in the Qualifier 2, Rajasthan Royals were decently placed at 111-3 after 13 overs when Dhruv Jurel became the victim of a sharp piece of fielding from Virat Kohli.

Riyan Parag was on strike against Green for the first ball of the 14th over. He pulled a short ball towards deep mid-wicket where Kohli swooped in, picked and threw the ball in one motion.

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Parag and Jurel hesitated for a moment for the second run, before Jurel committed for it. He had to put in a big dive but it wasn’t enough as Green ran back to collect the throw at the non-striker’s end and knock the stumps down.

After a lengthy review process, the TV umpire ruled in the favour of the fielding side and Jurel was given out. More than whether Jurel had made his crease or not, the matter of contention was whether Green had the ball in his control when the stumps were broken.

Replays showed that Green had somehow managed to keep the ball between the wrists of his hands when breaking the stumps down with his right hand.

What do the laws say about Green’s run out of Jurel?

According to law 29.2.1.5 of MCC’s Laws of Cricket, “the wicket is broken fairly if a bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or a stump is struck out of the ground by a fielder with his/her hand or arm, providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used.”

In this case, while the ball was in contact with the hand which broke the stumps, it wasn’t exactly “held in the hand or hands used” since it was being held between Green’s wrists.

It can be debated as to what the law means by “held in the hand”, potentially exposing another grey area in the laws of the game.

In the end, while Jurel’s run out made the game slightly interesting, RR cruised to victory with an over and four wickets remaining to book their place in Qualifier 2 where they will meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 24 in Chennai.