ashwin
Cricket

“Some of the decisions in this year’s IPL have left me a little flummoxed,” says R Ashwin

The umpires’ decision to replace the ball on their own due to the dew in Rajasthan Royals’ IPL match against Chennai Super Kings  has left spinner Ravichandran Ashwin perplexed.

The high dew at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday night caused the umpires to come in and change the ball during the pursuit, leaving Ashwin “surprised” after returning figures of 2/25. Though Ashwin and his team profited from the decision, he admits he was “a little confused.”

“I’m quite surprised the umpires changed the ball for dew on their own. It’s never happened before and I’m quite surprised. Some of the decisions in this year’s IPL on the field have left me a little flummoxed to be honest. I mean, it’s just the middle — left me flummoxed in a good or a bad way. It’s because I think what you need is a little bit of balance,” at the post-match news conference, Ashwin, who had stats of 4-0-25-2 and was named Man of the Match, stated.

In yet another last-ball conclusion in the T20 competition, RR defeated CSK by three runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Rajasthan batted first and made 175/8, while Chennai made 172/6.

The 36-year-old, who led the Rajasthan Royals to victory with a superb all-round effort, demanded consistency in rule enforcement. According to Ashwin: “As a bowling team, we are not asking for the ball to be changed. But the ball was changed on the umpire’s accord. I did ask the umpire and he said we can change it. So I just hope every time there is dew they can change it every single time going forward in this IPL. You can do whatever you want, but you just need to be in a standard going forward.”

It was the ideal homecoming for Ashwin. Ashwin once again shone in a game against a club that included four left-handers in the top seven. After allowing 10 runs in his first over, which was bowled in the powerplay, his second and third overs, in which he picked up the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube, put Rajasthan on top as Chennai lost their hold at a critical point.
Ashwin has been efficient in the four matches he has played thus far, conceding only 27 runs from four overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Ashwin also praised his Rajasthan Royals colleague Sandeep Sharma’s poise in the last over against CSK skipper MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja, which helped the Royals win by three runs.

Sharma stumbled in the penultimate over, conceding two wides before Dhoni smashed his attempted yorkers for two consecutive sixes. Sandeep, a substitute signing for RR, then trapped three deliveries in the block-hole to deny Dhoni victory in his 200th IPL game as CSK captain.

“Sandeep is someone who I really like. I really enjoy his commitment, his attitude. He’s someone who will fight, doesn’t get flustered. Even when we walked up to him at three balls, seven, he was relaxed. He had his own plans and he wanted to deliver what he could deliver at best. I just feel going full to Dhoni at that stage sometimes is not the best option, but any bowler would think that. You have 20 runs, so you want to just shut down to three balls. Going forward, it’s a lesson learned. But I thought it was phenomenal from Sandeep,” Ashwin explained.

Yes, they can alter the ball on their own, according to the umpire. The umpires can make the choice in most competitions, not just the IPL, but also in domestic tournaments. They don’t have to wait for a complaining fielding team. The IPL’s rules also state: If, during play, the ball cannot be found or recovered or the umpires agree that it has become unfit for play through normal use, the umpires shall replace it with a ball which has had wear comparable with that which the previous ball had received before the need for its replacement.

 

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