Spread over four hours and 30 minutes, the third and final T20I between India Afghanistan at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday did not just witness intense cricketing action, but also provided space for minor skirmishes and confusion.
The first was when Afghanistan’s Mohammed Nabi collected two extra runs in the first Super Over after the ball ricocheted off his leg from an underarm throw by India wicket-keeper Sanju Samson. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were annoyed that it was not in good spirit, with Rohit even confronting Nabi, but to no avail.
India head coach Dravid, though, played down the incident. “It’s part of the game,” he said in the post-match presser. “You can run for those. In the first T20 [Mohali], there was an incident where it hit the bat of one of our batters and we ran a run as well. So nothing in the rules stops you.”
The second incident, however, is yet to see such a closure. Rohit, after having batted in the first Super Over and seemingly retiring himself out with two runs needed off one delivery, was allowed to wield the willow in the second tie-breaker. According to the ICC’s playing conditions, “any batsman dismissed in any previous Super Over shall be ineligible to bat in any subsequent Super Over.”
But there was speculation that Rohit had actually “retired not out” and was thus eligible to play again. According to the ICC regulations, “if a batsman retires because of illness, injury or any other unavoidable cause, that batsman is entitled to resume his innings. If for any reason this does not happen, that batsman is to be recorded as ‘retired - not out’.”
Rohit, however, seemed in no visible discomfort, and if he had any other reason to walk off, he could have been allowed back in only with the consent of the rival captain. What also perplexed watchers was the fact that India’s first Super Over score read 16 for one. If Rohit had indeed “retired not out”, it should have been 16 for no loss. After the match, Dravid even termed it “Ash-level thinking,” a reference to R. Ashwin retiring himself out in IPL 2022.
It is pertinent to note that Afghanistan wanted medium pacer Azmatullah Omarzai, who had bowled the first Super Over, to bowl the second too, but had to choose someone different, in line with ICC rules.
“I have no idea,” said Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan head coach, when asked about the Rohit episode. “Has there ever been two Super Overs? It’s sort of new. We keep setting these new rules and we keep testing the guidelines.”
