Kings XI Punjab skipper and India's premier off-spinner R Ashwin found himself in the eye of the storm after 'Mankading' Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at Jaipur on Monday night.
The cricket world was divided in their opinion as to whether Ashwin's act was against the spirit of the game.
Buttler's dismissal took the wind out of the Royals' sails as Kings XI went on to win the match by 14 runs. Buttler made 69 off 43 balls. This was also the first time a batsman was Mankaded or run out for backing up too far at the non-striker's end before the bowler had released the ball in an IPL match. The dismissal is known as 'Mankading' after former Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad ran out Australia batsman Bill Brown in a similar manner in 1947.
Ashwin is not the first Indian star to court controversy for 'Mankading'. During India's maiden tour of South Africa in 1992, dubbed the Friendship Series, former skipper and all-rounder Kapil Dev ran out South African batting mainstay Peter Kirsten in the second One-Day International (ODI) at Port Elizabeth.
India, captained by Mohammad Azharuddin, drew the first two Tests before action shifted to the seven-match ODI series.
The hosts won the first match by six wickets to go one up. India suffered a batting collapse in the second one-dayer and were bowled out for a paltry 147. South African opener Andrew Hudson was cleaned up by Kapil for five. Kapil then ran out Kirsten for backing up too far at the non-striker's end.
Kapil was in his delivery stride when he saw the South African No. 3 out of the crease, took off the bails and appealed.
South African umpire Cyril Mitchley had no option, but to rule Kirsten out.
Kirsten, who is the half-brother of Gary Kirsten, left the field fuming. Kapil was quick to remind Kirsten that he had warned him thrice in the series.
The drama did not end there as the Indian team management complained to match referee Clive Lloyd that South African skipper Kepler Wessels hit Kapil on his shin with the bat while turning for a second run later in the game. However, Wessels was let off as Lloyd could not find TV footage to substantiate the claims of the Indians.
South Africa won the match by six wickets and went on to the clinch the series 5-2. India also lost the four-match Test series 1-0. At the end of the second ODI, South African all-rounder Dave Callaghan had this to say about the Kirsten run-out: “So this is what the f***ing Friendship Series is all about!”
It must be noted that Kapil had warned Kirsten thrice in the series unlike Ashwin. However, in the competitive world of professional sport, it is naive to expect that a batsman can gain an unfair advantage by stealing a yard at the bowler's end.
