Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran was run out in extraordinary fashion on Thursday in their Ranji Trophy clash against the Services, walking out of his crease for a drinks break while the ball was still in play.
Easwaran, batting on 81 was looking set in Bengal’s first innings at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground in Kalyani, was dismissed when a routine moment at the non-striker’s end turned into a flashpoint.
The incident came on the final delivery of the 41st over. Services seamer Aditya Kumar sent down a full ball that Sudip Chatterjess pushed back down the pitch. Easwaran, stationed at the non-striker’s end, appeared to assume the over was complete and that drinks had been called. He stepped down the pitch and began walking away from his ground, not attempting a run and not looking to gain any advantage.
But the ball had not been declared dead. In his follow through, Kumar got fingertips to the return, and the ball deflected towards the non-striker’s stumps. It hit the stumps with Easwara still outside his crease, prompting an immediate appeal for Services. The on-field umpires referred it upstairs, and the third umpire confirmed Abhimanyu Easwaran’s position at the moment the stumps were broken before ruling him run out for 81.
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Easwaran accepts responsibility
Easwaran accepted responsibility for the lapse after the day’s play and played down any “spirit of cricket” debate around Services not withdrawing the appeal. “The mistake I made surprised even me,” he said, adding there was “no question” of being called back because it was “entirely my fault”. Easwaran explained he thought the bowler had collected the ball and that he “instinctively moved forward” as players moved towards the short break.
{{/usCountry}}Easwaran accepted responsibility for the lapse after the day’s play and played down any “spirit of cricket” debate around Services not withdrawing the appeal. “The mistake I made surprised even me,” he said, adding there was “no question” of being called back because it was “entirely my fault”. Easwaran explained he thought the bowler had collected the ball and that he “instinctively moved forward” as players moved towards the short break.
{{/usCountry}}Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla echoed that view when asked about comparisons with the famous 2011 Trent Bridge episode involving Ian Bell, where India later withdrew an appeal. Shukla said the situations could “look similar” but were from a “different era and different circumstances” and stressed this was “simply a mistake on the batter’s part.” He added that Easwaran remained “a senior player" and said there was “nothing wrong” in Services continuing with their appeal since the moment played out within the laws of the game.
The dismissal, rare even by first-class standards, cut short a fluent innings at a stage when Easwaran looked well placed to convert his start into a bigger score, and it left Bengal to reset quickly after losing their captain in such unexpected circumstances.