Rajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a 20-run defeat last night against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The loss was compounded by a controversial dismissal of RR skipper Sanju Samson, which resulted in a 30% match fee deduction for a breach of the IPL Code of Conduct.
Sanju Samson’s controversial dismissal
Chasing a challenging target of 222, Samson’s fiery knock of 86 runs had seemingly put RR in a commanding position. However, the drama unfolded in the 16th over. Chasing momentum, Samson went for a big shot off Mukesh Kumar, but the connection wasn’t clean. Shai Hope dived spectacularly and claimed the catch near the boundary. Replays initially seemed to favour DC, but a specific angle sparked doubts. Despite the confusion, the third umpire upheld the on-field call, dismissing Samson.
The dismissal triggered a heated exchange. A visibly frustrated Samson initially walked back but then returned to argue with the on-field umpires. The situation intensified with the DC owner Parth Jindal expressing their disapproval from the stands. Eventually, order was restored as Samson reluctantly headed back to the pavilion.
The debate around the legitimacy of the catch has become a major talking point on social media and amongst cricketing circles.
Also READ: IPL 2024 – Netizens slam Parth Jindal for his animated ‘Out hai’ reaction over Sanju Samson | DC vs RR
Kumar Sangakkara opts for diplomacy
Despite the controversy, Royals’ head coach and Director of Cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, maintained a diplomatic stance. The Sri Lankan legend acknowledged the difficulty of the decision for the third umpire.
“It depends on, you know, the replays and angles and sometimes you think the foot’s touched. But it’s a difficult one for the third umpire to judge. The game was at a crucial stage, so that happens in cricket. (We’ve got) different perspectives on it but you know at the end of the day you got to stand by that decision of the third umpire (is what) the umpires did. If we have any other kind of opinion on it, we’ll share it with the umpires and sort it out,” he said after the game.
While acknowledging the controversy, Sangakkara refused to blame the defeat on it, crediting DC for their fighting spirit and smart bowling towards the end.
“I thought irrespective of the dismissal, we still should have probably seen that game home but I thought Delhi played really really well. And they fought till the end and they were very smart with their bowling at the backend,” the 46-year-old added.
Also READ: Twitter reactions – Sanju Samson’s stellar knock in vain as DC register victory over RR | IPL 2024
