Dale Steyn wants cricket to go baseball’s way after last ball IPL 2024 LBW sparks debate

SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) stole a victory from the jaws of defeat in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday, defeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by a solitary run. Two faults off the last ball in a 202-run chase, Rovman Powell failed to connect with Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s low delivery and was trapped LBW. Although Powell quickly made a review, the decision was later upheld by the TV referee. However, even if the West Indian all-rounder had managed to succeed in his review, it would not have changed the outcome of the match.

For the unversed, according to the ICC playing conditions, the rule in Appendix D suggests that the ball becomes dead as soon as the umpire signals the out.

“If, following a player review request, an original decision of ‘Out’ is changed to ‘Not out’, then the ball will still be considered dead when the original decision was made. The batting side, whilst benefiting from the reversal of dismissal, will not benefit from any runs that may subsequently have accrued from the delivery originally made by the on-field umpire,” the law suggests.

Although RR would still have lost the match if Powell’s analysis had been successful, fans were left wondering what the outcome of the match would have been if it had not been announced.

Sharing his views on the same, former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn took a look baseballrulebook to eradicate confusion in such scenarios.

“We basically need to play baseball style. Consider that the ball is not dead until play stops. So essentially run if you are the batting team and stay on the field if you are the bowling team. Then we address LBW or caught off the ball, etc., out if out, runs awarded if LBW or caught not out,” Steyn wrote in a post on X.

On the disappointing loss to SRH, RR captain Sanju Samson said after the game, “Knowing the nature of IPL, you never win the game until you actually win the game.”