Starring in a rare event, Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday became the first player in this Indian Premier League season and the third player in the history of the tournament to be given out for 'Obstructing the field' during Chennai Super Kings' five-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals. (As It Happened | Scorecard)
The dismissal took place on the penultimate ball of the 16th over being bowled by RR pacer Avesh Khan.
Jadeja guided the ball to third man and ran hard with two in mind but his partner CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad was content with a single. Jadeja had rushed beyond the half of the pitch and had to turn after Gaikwad refused to budge.
The throw came in from third man and Sanju Samson threw the ball towards the non-striker's end but it found the back of Jadeja who was running back to get to his crease.
Samson and other Royals' players appealed and after a few replays umpires adjudged that Jadeja had indeed come in the way of the RR skipper's throw and was thus out.
After talking to the on-field umpires, the Indian all-rounder walked back to the dug out definitely unsatisfied by the decision.
The rare dismissal made Jadeja just the third-ever player in the history of the tournament to be given out for 'obstructing the field'.
Yusuf Pathan in 2013 and Amit Mishra in 2019 are the other two instances of this method being invoked to dismiss a player in the IPL.
What Is Out Obstructing The Field?
A batter is out Obstructing the field if while the ball is in play, he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action.
However, in this instance another sub clause of the law was used which says: If an umpire feels that a batter, in running between the wickets, has significantly changed his direction without probable cause and thereby obstructed a fielder’s attempt to effect a run out, the batter should, on appeal, be given out, obstructing the field. It shall not be relevant whether a run out would have occurred or not.
Earlier, RR won the toss and elected to bat. Rookie pacer Simarjeet Singh wreaked havoc on the RR batters taking three wickets giving away just 26 runs in his four overs. Riyan Parag was the top scorer with an unbeaten 47 as RR managed to get to 141/5 on a sluggish Chepauk surface.
The score was never going to be enough and a calm 42 not out from skipper Gaikwad guided CSK to their seventh win of the season.
