KXIP vs MI: Another umpiring howler in IPL as R Ashwin bowls seven-ball first over in Mohali

After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, skipper Ashwin decided to bowl the first over of the match and he bowled seven balls to MI openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock.

The ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been hit with a new umpiring howler as Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a seven-ball first over during Kings XI Punjab’s clash against Mumbai Indians at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday.

File image of KXIP skipper R Ashwin.(AFP)

After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, skipper Ashwin decided to bowl the first over of the match and he bowled seven balls to MI openers Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock. The umpire somehow missed the fact that Ashwin had already bowled six deliveries before he was hit for a boundary by de Kock off the seventh ball.

This is how the first over from Ashwin panned out –

1st ball: Ashwin bowls a dot delivery to Rohit.

2nd ball: Rohit takes single to give de Kock the strike.

3rd ball: de Kock defends a straight Ashwin delivery

4th ball: de Kock hits the ball towards long off for a single.

5th ball: Ashwin bowls a dot delivery to Rohit.

6th ball: Rohit punches the ball towards covers for a single

7th ball: de Kock cuts the ball fine for the first four of the innings towards third man.

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This is not the first umpiring mistake in the ongoing edition of the tournament as it was the main talking point after the conclusion of the match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

RCB needed 7 runs in the final ball of the over, Lasith Malinga had the ball in his hand, Shivam Dube was on strike. Malinga ran up and fired a full ball aimed at the stumps, it was dug out towards long off, as Mumbai Indians got home by 6 runs.

However, after the final ball was delivered, cameras showed Malinga had overstepped, which was not spotted by the umpire, and this infuriated Virat Kohli, who lashed out at the umpire at the post-match presser.

“We are playing at the IPL level and not playing club cricket. The umpires should have had their eyes open. That is a ridiculous call (last ball). If it is a game of margins, I don’t know what is happening. They should have been more sharp and careful out there. When they were 145 for 7, we should have done better. The last few overs were brutal for us,” Kohli said at the post-match presser.