New Delhi: After the Indian top order collapsed against New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal at the Old Trafford on Wednesday, Ravindra Jadeja and Mahendra Singh Dhoni who kept their side in hunt as India chased 240 runs for victory.
Soon after Jadeja (77) fell after adding 116 runs for the seventh wicket with Dhoni (50), the former India skipper was caught short of his crease by Martin Guptill with a brilliant direct hit in the penultimate over of the match. India eventually went down by 18 runs to crash out of the World Cup.
However, a video has emerged on Twitter which has sparked a debate over the legality of the delivery in which Dhoni fell. As per ICC rules, in the third Powerplay, only five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle. But before the ball was delivered in which Dhoni was dismissed, a small graphic in the video showed that six players were outside the ring, leading to widespread reactions by fans.
While it doesn't matter if it is a no-ball in case of a run out, the fans felt that had the umpire called it an illegal delivery, Dhoni wouldn't have had gone for quick runs as the next delivery would have been a free-hit.
Criticising the umpiring standards, a fan tweeted: "What great Umpiring Skills....The Ball Msd became runout should be given as NoBall...& Dhoni should have played and India have Won....What A Great WC? What a great exhibition of Umpiring skills????"
"Just before MSD got Run-out, six fielders were outside the circle. Don't know whether it is umpiring fault or GPS error BTW, it was still a runout," another fan wrote.
"Didn't know about it, only that it would have involved No ball, and that in No ball, batsman can be out run out. It means team India also did not take note of this rule, who knows under the disappointment of dhoni's runout, they never raised issue. It amount to to bad umpiring," tweeted another fan.