Was Virat Kohli’s dismissal valid? Internet fumes over umpire’s decision as RCB batter leaves ground in anger | Watch

Virat Kohli, who is donning the prestigious Orange Cap in IPL 2024 after becoming the top run scorer in the season was dismissed early on Sunday against the KKR pacer Harshit Rana. The RCB batter protested his dismissal and claimed that it was waist-high no-ball. The third umpire checked the delivery from different angles and held the dismissal as valid. Virat Kohli was clearly unhappy with the third umpire's decision as he had a heated exchange with the on-field umpire and left the ground in anger.

The RCB fans on social media were angry with the third umpire's decision and called it “technical cheating” in favor of KKR. The users pointed out how the footage clearly revealed that it was no ball and the third umpire should have reversed the decision.

Was Virat Kohli's dismissal valid?

The third umpire held Virat Kohli's dismissal valid on technical grounds as to calculate a no-ball, two things are considered- the height of the ball and the player's waist height. If the ball is bowled above the player's waist, the delivery is termed invalid as a ‘no-ball’, and a free hit is offered to the batter.

In Virat Kohli's case, the ball was almost at his waist height, but the RCB batter was standing outside the crease. The third umpire took the decision after calculating the ball's angle, which would have gone downwards if Virat Kohli had been inside the crease. At the calculated angle, the ball would have been at a height of 0.92 meters, which is less than Virat Kohli's waist height of 1.04 meters.

Social media was abuzz with videos of Virat Kohli's dismissal with his fans criticizing the third umpire's decision. “Is that out? Looked clearly not out and waist high! And clearly Virat is very very unlucky. While the frustration at the umpires isn’t really par, one can understand where he was coming from. Was batting very well and it just seemed a wrong call,” one user said. 

“What is the use of technology ?? It's totally above the waist Virat Kohli is right at his place 100% truly unfair decision,” another user said.