IPL 2019 Controversies : The Sportsrush presents before you the Top 5 incidents which made headlines in the Indian Premier League 2019.
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The 12th season of the ever lucrative Indian Premier League comes to an end with a breathtaking climax. The Mumbai Indians won their record 4th IPL title against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a scintillating last ball finish by a whisker- 1 run. It thus became the most successful IPL franchise in the history of the marquee league.
It was MI’s Lasith Malinga’s well disguised slower delivery, in the last ball of the match that prevented the CSK from registering their second consecutive title. Though Malinga stole the show in the end, it was Jasprit Bumrah’s tournament winning figures of 4-0-14-2 that fittingly received the Man of the Match Award.
The IPL this year gave us every other moment that constitutes entertainment. From high-octane drama, to the many last over finishes. And from the 2 Super Overs this season to the many controversies- some which were received well by the fans, and some which did not.
Thus, after almost everybody being emotionally spent the last night, including ourselves at TSR, we try to list out the Top 5 controversies which made quite some headlines in this season of the IPL.
Top 5 Controversies in IPL 2019
Ravichandran Ashwin’s ‘Mankading’
The Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin’s ‘Mankading’ (or simply, run-out at the non-striker’s end before the delivery being bowled) to dismiss Rajasthan Royals’ and England superstar batsman, Jos Buttler snowballed into one of the biggest controversies in this year’s IPL.
During the KXIP vs RR match, Ashwin whipped off the bails at the non-striker’s end at the moment of the ball’s release. With Buttler backing away too too far, Ashwin rightly, and well within the laws of the game appealed before the umpire after removing the bails. The umpire left it to the third umpire to make the decision, who did what he was supposed to do- declare him out.
What created the controversy and sparked ignominy amongst the fans was the ‘absence of fair play’ which should have been exhibited (as per them) by Ashwin. Moreover, even some of the former cricketers like Shane Warne too bashed Ashwin for acting in an unsporting manner, and contrary to the spirit of the game.
What made matters worse for RR, was the fact that the unfortunate Buttler dismissal led to a batting collapse which consequently handed them a 14-run defeat.
What added flavour to the league post the ‘Mankad’ act, were the reactions of players like Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli in separate incidents of different matches on the field. The videos of the same can be watched below:
WATCH: Shikhar Dhawan reaction to Ashwin’s Mankad attempt yet again
WATCH: Virat Kohli’s angry ‘Mankad’ related gesture after dismissing R. Ashwin
Malinga’s No-Ball going unnoticed
It all happened during the league match played between RCB and MI. With RCB needing 7 runs off the final delivery, it was AB De Villers at the non-striker’s end, while the all-rounder Shivam Dube was farming the strike. Shivam Dube timed the ball beautifully at the long-on fence but could not fetch more than a single, thereby handing the RCB a 6-run defeat.
But the controversy stemmed-up when the replay on the big-screen clearly depicted a big No-Ball which was bowled by Malinga in the final delivery. The RCB players, including the fans were visibly gutted at the quality of umpiring, with captains of both the teams, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli expressing their disappointments.
Moreover, had that No-Ball been noticed by the umpire, it would have been De Villiers who would have been back on strike. And with 6 runs required off the final delivery, RCB might have been in with a real chance of victory.
Dhoni scampering to the ground from the dug-out
Rains in the Sahara Desert and a visibly fuming MS Dhoni are one of the few rarest things which ever occur. But, the latter did happen during the league match between CSK and RR in this year’s IPL.
Needing 8 runs off the 3 deliveries, Dhoni scampered through to the pitch after the umpire refused to give that delivery a No-Ball, after having given the call initially.
It wasn’t correct for Dhoni to have acted in such an uncharacteristic fashion, for which he was rightly fined 50% of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct.
But, from Dhoni’s point of view, he had the right to get angry as it was a clear above- the- waist- height No-Ball. But, the manner in which he expressed his disappointment was unpardonable.
Pollard expressing disappointment in the final
The memory of this incident would still be afresh in the minds of the fans all around. It all happened in 3rd delivery of the 20th of the MI innings yesterday. Having shuffled a tad by Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo bowled a wayward delivery outside the off-stump, way beyond the wide-line indicator.
The umpire refused to give it a wide delivery and was perhaps a fault on the part of Nitin Menon, the then on-field umpire at the striking end.
Pollard threw his bat up in the air, as an expression of disappointment pertaining to the decision.
Again, while Bravo was in his run-up to bowl the next delivery, Pollard gradually started walking away towards the trampline, outside the wide-line. He finally pulled-away and was seen having a word or two with the umpire over the issue.
Although it was an ugly sight for cricket overall. But, the fans enjoyed the action involving the two West Indian stars on the eve of the final.
The MS Dhoni run-out
Yet another controversy from the finals yesterday which makes it through to our Top 5 controversial moments list is the MS Dhoni run-out, which costed CSK the tournament big time.
In the 4th delivery of the 13th over, MS Dhoni tried to steal a run from an overthrow from Lasith Malinga from the fine-leg region. But a vigilant Ishan Kishan at mid-off hit the bulls eye at the non-striker’s end.
The decision was referred to the Third Umpire. This is where the controversy started to take shape. While one angle showed Dhoni was on the line, the other suggested that the had just made his ground.
With continuous replays of the two angles for quite some minutes, it appeared that the benifit of doubt would go with the batsman, MS Dhoni. But the third umpire, Nigel Llong had some other plans and adjudged Dhoni as OUT on the giant screen.
As rightly mentioned by one of the Twitteratis post the incident, the debate as to whether Dhoni was out or not would continue till eternity, especially because this decision played a huge role in CSK’s loss in the finals.
