The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a popular cricket tournament featuring some of the world’s best players. While the tournament is known for its high level of cricketing action, there have been instances where the quality of umpiring has been called into question. Here are the top five matches in IPL history with poor umpiring:
- IPL 2019 Final: Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
The final of the IPL 2019 saw several controversial decisions made by the umpires. In the 13th over, CSK’s Shane Watson was given out LBW despite the ball hitting his bat before the pads. Later, in the 18th over, a no-ball was not called despite Lasith Malinga clearly overstepping the crease. The missed no-ball cost CSK the match, as they lost by just one run.
- IPL 2018: Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals
In this match, the umpires made a series of errors that impacted the outcome of the match. The most significant error was when RR’s Ben Stokes was given not out despite clearly edging the ball to the wicketkeeper. The mistake allowed RR to win the match by 3 wickets.
- IPL 2017: Mumbai Indians vs Rising Pune Supergiants
In this match, MI’s Kieron Pollard was given out LBW despite the ball pitching outside leg stump. The decision was a crucial one, as it occurred in the 17th over with MI needing 47 runs from 21 balls. MI eventually lost the match by 3 runs.
- IPL 2015: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians
This match saw several poor decisions made by the umpires. RCB’s AB de Villiers was given out LBW despite the ball hitting him outside the line of the stumps. Later, in the same match, RCB’s Chris Gayle was not given out LBW despite the ball clearly hitting his pads in line with the stumps.
- IPL 2014: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Delhi Daredevils
In this match, RCB’s Yuvraj Singh was given out LBW despite the ball clearly hitting his bat before hitting his pads. The decision was a critical one, as it occurred in the 17th over with RCB needing 41 runs from 24 balls. RCB eventually lost the match by four runs.
In conclusion, while umpiring errors are a part of any sport, they can have a significant impact on the outcome of a match. These five matches are examples of how poor umpiring can change the course of a game and leave fans feeling disappointed.