The 15th match of IPL 2023 is in the history books. Lucknow Super Giants pulled off one of the most incredible victories in IPL history as they beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by one wicket at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Harshal Patel’s mankad attempt in the final over of the game was one of the biggest talking points.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis allotted the responsibility of bowling the last over of the match to Harshal Patel. The Lucknow Super Giants needed five runs off six balls. They had three wickets in hand, and Jaydev Unadkat was looking good in the middle. Many fans felt that LSG would complete the run-chase by the third or fourth ball itself.
However, Patel executed his plans well and dismissed Mark Wood and Jaydev Unadkat in the final over. Courtesy of the double strike, the equation came down to one run from one ball. Patel tried to pull off a smart move on the final ball. Instead of bowling the delivery, he tried to run-out the non-striker Ravi Bishnoi, who was well out of his crease.
How did Harshal Patel’s mankad attempt fail?
In a rare development, Harshal Patel missed out on the stumps at the non-striker’s end while trying to complete a mankad. It is quite rare to see a bowler missing the stumps at the non-striker’s end because if he is going for the dismissal, then it is pre-planned. Perhaps, the pressure of the match was too much, and Patel missed his target under the pressure.
Harshal Patel’s mankad attempt was not successfully initially. However, he passed the bowling crease and tried for a run-out once again. This time, he hit the stumps and the RCB players appealed for the run-out. However, the umpires rejected the appeal because Patel had crossed the crease and almost completed his action.
As per the cricket rules, a bowler needs to run-out the non-striker before completing his action or even being half-way through it. In the Big Bash League earlier this season, Adam Zampa’s run-out appeal was rejected for the same reason.