Was Wanindu Hasaranga’s Catch Legal? Here’s What ICC Rule Says

Apart from Patidar’s contribution, Wanindu Hasaranga was excellent in the field as he gave his best and saved crucial runs for his team. But there was one incident of the match when the Sri Lankan cricketer got hold of a catch at the boundary line but the catch wasn’t given. What’s the rule behind it? Let’s find out.

Hasaranga’s catch

Royal Challengers Bangalore got a 14-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday at Eden Gardens to book a Qualifier 2 date with Rajasthan Royals. Rajat Patidar was unstoppable that day as he was crowned as the Man of the Match for his match-winning performance of 112 off 54 balls.

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Apart from Patidar’s contribution, Wanindu Hasaranga was excellent in the field as he saved almost 14 runs for his team. But there was one incident of the match when the Sri Lankan cricketer got hold of a catch at the boundary line but the catch wasn’t given.

 

The incident

It was the 10th over of the LSG chase, where Hasaranga at the boundary line almost pulled off a stunner of the tournament. Deepak Hooda had slapped Harshal Patel’s short ball between cover and point. As the ball descended ground-wards, Wanindu Hasaranga, coming from the deep point, caught the ball. But the speed of his sprint was so unstoppable that he could not apply the brakes and complete the catch. He would invariably crash onto the advertising boundary cushions. He landed on the grass and looked pleadingly at his distant colleagues. The umpire went upstairs and it was seen that the spinner had control of the ball but not of his own movement and had to let it go before he can grab hold of it. Finally, the catch wasn’t considered but at least Hasaranga saved five runs.

As per rule, Law 33.3 says:- “The act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder’s person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement”.

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Hasaranga was laser-sharp denying as many as 8 boundaries to LSG in what was a fantastic fielding effort by the Sri Lankan. He put in some quick full-length dives to deny LSG batters a couple of boundaries adding pressure onto the opposition side. In what could have been extra 16 runs, the Sri Lankan’s effort kept LSG out of the game.