 "India vs New Zealand controversy")
The Indian women's cricket team felt hard done on October 4 at the Dubai International Stadium during their defeat to two-time finalists New Zealand in the Women's T20 World Cup 2024, as the umpires made a controversial decision on the night, which fell in the Kiwis' favour.
What exactly happened in IND vs NZ T20 WC match?
New Zealand batter Amelia Kerr, who appeared to have been run-out by India in the 14th over, was walking back to the pavilion when suddenly the 4th umpire instructed her to return to the pitch, as the delivery was ultimately declared 'dead' when the dismissal took place on the field.
The decision left Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the Indian dugout visibly in disbelief, questioning how such a decision could be made at the highest level of sport.
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The incident occurred when NZ batters Sophie Devine and Kerr decided to take a single off the last ball of Deepti Sharma's over. However, even after seeing that the ball was in the hands of Harmanpreet Kaur after the single was taken, the duo decided to steal another run for their side.
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This runout controversy cannot save the Indian team's bad bowling. #INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/nLUQNB7MUT
— कवि: आलोक “अज्ञात” (@alokntyl) October 4, 2024
Harmanpreet threw the ball towards the wicketkeeper's end seeing the attempt, with Kerr not even close to the crease and eventually being dismissed by Richa Ghosh. Despite the obvious run-out, other unusual events also occurred while the dismissal took place. India's Deepti Sharma had asked for her floppy from the umpire while the square-leg umpire was seen down on one knee, tying her shoelaces at the time of the run-out.
It was only after the dismissal was accepted by both sides that the umpires came up with their controversial decision to call Kerr back and deem her not out.
The chaos in the middle of the ground saw players arguing with the umpires for almost 8-10 minutes. Another incident that added to the umpire's poor decision-making occurred at the start of the next over when Sophie Devine faced the first delivery instead of Kerr, who was supposed to take the strike if only one run was counted on the previous delivery.
India eventually managed to dismiss Kerr for 13 in the same over as Renuka Thakur got her out.
What does the rulebook say?
The MCC's rule on dead ball states that the ball is considered dead when the bowler's end umpire determines that both the fielding side and the batters have stopped treating it as being in play.
Importantly, subsection 20.1.1.1 specifies that the ball is considered dead when "it is finally settled in the hands of the wicketkeeper or the bowler."
"New Zealand were pretty sure that it was a double run, and Amelia Kerr went out, which showed that the over was not called yet, and we all thought that, okay, we got that run-out. I mean, what if that run-out hadn't happened? Would they give [New Zealand] two [runs] for that?" India's Jemimah Rodrigues said after the match.
"Honestly, that was not in our control. At the end, we respect the decision of the umpire, and we were okay with that. But, yeah, it's a bit harsh. When Amelia Kerr herself walked out because she knew she was out," she added.
New Zealand eventually turned out to be comfortable winners on the night due to which the controversy didn't garner much attention in the end.
 "Harmanpreet Kaur on Jersey number 7")
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