Cricket is a gentleman’s game and we generally do not associate controversial things, with it in comparison to other sports. A bowler tries his best to dismiss a batsman to put his team in the driving seat. Over the years bowlers have tried to send the batsman back to the pavilion by attempting ‘Mankading’.
The act of running out a batsman before the bowler deliveries the ball is termed as ‘Mankading’ in the rule books. This is a different sought of a ‘run-out’ as the ball is still in the hands of the bowler before he completes his action. These mankading moments in cricket stirred a lot of controversies among the fans and the experts.
This is not a new concept as the first dismissal through Mankading took place in 1948. When Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad ran out Bill Brown during India’s tour of Australia. Since then this mode of dismissal has had divided opinions in the World of Cricket. Some call it fair and within the rules of the game and some terms it as ‘unfair’. But after MCC’s announcement on Wednesday (8 March 2022), it appears that the debate would finally come to an end.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has introduced some new rules in cricket which will come into effect from October 1, 2022. In a big change, The Mankading dismissal has been moved from ‘Unfair play’ to ‘Run out’ section.
“Law 41.16 – running out the non-striker – has been moved from Law 41 (Unfair play) to Law 38 (Run out). The wording of the Law remains the same.”
“The bowler is always painted as the villain but it is a legitimate way to dismiss someone and it is the non-striker who is stealing the ground. It is legitimate, it is a run-out and therefore it should live in the run-out section of the laws.”, Fraser Stewart, MCC Laws Manager, told the Times newspaper.
Here are the Top 5 Mankading moments in cricket of all time:
5. Sachitra Senanayake and Jos Buttler
In 2014, Sri Lanka was facing hosts England in the series decider of the ODI series. Sri Lankan off-spinner Sachitra Senanayake was getting ready to bowl with Jos Buttler standing at the non-striker’s end. Before delivering the ball Senanayake saw Buttler leaving the crease early and employed the ‘Mankading’ runout.
This incident left the crowd at Edgbaston disappointed as Buttler was sent packing to the pavilion. The Wicketkeeper-batsman of England after the match expressed the bowler was not at fault. He should not have waited for him to release the ball before leaving his crease.
4. Aamir Kaleem and Mark Chapman
Oman was facing Hong Kong in the Asia cup Qualifier in 2016. The match was standing in a very tense situation between the two associate nations. Understanding the magnitude of the match Oman spinner Kaleem decided to pull out the Mankading trick and ran out Mark Chapman.
Chapman was found leaving his crease early in an attempt to take a quick single. Kaleem saw the opportunity and ran him out before delivering the ball. This was a critical moment in the match as after this incident Oman went on to win this match.
3. Kapil Dev and Peter Kirsten
India was facing South Africa in a one day international of a 7 match ODI series. India was bowled out by South Africa for only 147 in their innings. When India came out to bowl they needed quick wickets to change the course of the match. The legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev twice warned Peter Kirsten.
Kirsten since the time he came to the crease for looking for quick singles and leaving his crease to early. Kapil dev saw Kirsten was backing up too far before he could deliver the ball. Kapil decided to remove the bails before delivering the ball and employed Mankading. He ran out Kirsten and India came back into the contest.
2. Keemo Paul and Richard Ngarava
If you think Mankading hasn’t taken place in U19 Cricket then you are completely wrong. The 2016 U-19 World Cup was the event when West Indies pacer ran out a Zimbabwe Batsman. Keemo Paul executed the Mankading dismissal on Richard Ngarava. The place in the quarter-final was at stake as Zimbabwe needed three runs in the last over with one wicket in hand.
The West Indies medium-pacer premeditated that the non-striker would leave his crease in advance. The bowler sensed the opportunity to qualify for the Quarter Finals. He removed the bails of the non-striking end that broke the hearts of the Zimbabwe U-19 teams. This is one of the mankading moments in cricket.
1. Jos Buttler and Ravichandran Ashwin
This has to take the top honours, Ashwin running out Jos Buttler in the 2019 IPL. Kings XI Punjab was facing the Rajasthan Royal at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur. Buttler was taking his side home as he was playing a chanceless inning.
The Punjab skipper Ashwin was bowling a critical over in the match. He saw Buttler backing up too far in an attempt to sneak quick runs. Ashwin sensed a vital opportunity and executed the Mankading to send Buttler back to the pavilion. Buttler wasn’t impressed by this and openly criticised Ashwin. The replays showed that Ashwin delayed the release of the ball and ran out Buttler.
This was a turning point in the match Punjab ultimately went on and won a tight match. When in the most presentation Ashwin was asked about the Mankading incident to which he said he did not do anything wrong. The dismissal was within the rules of the game as Buttler was leaving his crease too early.
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