IND vs SL: Sanath Jayasuriya calls for 'fine-tuning of rules' after run-out confusion during Super Over
Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya urged fine-tuning and a little more clarity regarding the dead-ball rule after the confusion during the Super Over against India on Friday, September 26 in the Asia Cup Super Fours clash. The on-field umpire Gazi Sohel had given Dasun Shanaka out after a wide-angled delivery from Arshdeep Singh passed close to his bat on the fourth delivery of the Super Over. Shanaka, however, tried to steal a bye before the wicketkeeper Sanju Samson hit the stumps and got Kamindu Mendis out.
Shanaka was quick to send the original decision upstairs and the DRS overturned the original call, but the run-out also didn't stand
According to Law 20.1.1.3, "The ball becomes dead when a batter is dismissed. The ball will be deemed to be dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal."
Hence, as soon as the umpire raised his finger to adjudge Shanaka out caught behind, the ball was dead at that very moment, regardless of the decision getting overturned on review. The run-out on the same delivery, therefore, didn't count, and the batter Shanaka still could play a couple of balls.
In the DRS era, this very clause in the dead-ball law still remains controversial, as it has prevented teams from securing those crucial runs they have scored through leg byes after the umpire gave them LBW out, but later it turned out that the batter wasn't out. Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya called for fine-tuning of the rules and remove the ambiguity to help both the umpires as well as the players.
"I think that was the rules. According to the rules, if you appeal for the catch, then he Dasun had to go by the third umpire's call, so it was the first decision that counts always, not the second one. So he went for the replay and it was not out. So that's what happened. But I think, there are a few areas from this game they'll have to look into to fine-tune a little bit of the rules," Jayasuriya told reporters.
The former Sri Lankan all-rounder also elaborated on his side's choice of batters for the Super Over and why they didn't send the centurion Pathum Nissanka, mentioning that the 27-year-old had been playing through niggles and, having played nearly through the innings, it was difficult for him to get back on the field to bat.
"He was having hamstring and groin injuries during the last two games, and we were a little worried about him, and that is the reason we went with the left-hand and right-hand combination," the 56-year-old added.
Sri Lanka could muster just a couple of runs in their Super Over as Arshdeep got Shanaka caught at third man on the very next delivery, before captain and vice-captain, Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill, finished it off for the Men in Blue.
