Sunrisers Hyderabad have complained to the IPL officials about a controversial catch given against their skipper Kane Williamson in their team’s opener against Rajasthan Royals this season.
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Chasing a mammoth 210 to open their account on March 29, SRH were dealt an early blow when Williamson was caught out by Devdutt Padikkal at slip for a seven-ball two in the second over. A delivery from Prasidh Krishna squared up the Kiwi batter, who ended up poking behind to the wicketkeeper Sanju Samson. Though a diving Samson managed to get one hand to the ball, it popped right out, but an alert Paddikal showed great awareness to dive forward and catch the ball.
The on-field umpires referred it to the TV umpire for a closer look as the ball seemed to bounce before nesting in the hands of Padikkal, but Williamson was ruled out, much to the surprise of Nick Knight, the commentator, who had stated “I reckon that might have bounced” on air.
Speaking after the game that SRH lost by 61 runs, Hyderabad’s head coach Tom Moody said, “We were very surprised that it was given out, particularly when we saw the replay. I can understand the on-field umpires taking it upstairs, and when that happened and we saw the evidence. We’re certainly not umpires, but it looked pretty clear to us what the decision was.”
There is no soft signal in place in the IPL, meaning the decision was down to the TV umpire alone.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, the franchise have now written to the BCCI, with the complaint also carrying a captain’s report, which was given to the match referee after the game.
“Yes, we’ve written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),” a franchise official told Cricbuzz. “The procedure is that the coach has to write and the process has been followed.”
