In cricket, “mankading” is a type of dismissal wherein the bowler runs out the non-striker for stepping out of the crease ahead of the ball being released. Named after Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad, who infamously employed the tactic in a Test match in 1947, the dismissal has been controversially debated for years as being legal but not spirit-of-the-game.
According to the current ICC rules, a bowler is permitted to attempt a mankad only before completing their delivery stride. Any such attempt after completing the action is deemed invalid, even if the batter is out of their crease.
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Digvesh Rathi’s Mankad Attempt Sparks Outrage
The IPL 2025 fixture between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium saw the return of this scorching issue.
While RCB pursued a record target of 228, they were dominating owing to a vital stand by Jitesh Sharma and Mayank Agarwal. With LSG under pressure, Digvesh Rathi tried his hand at a mankad on Jitesh at the non-striker’s end stopping mid-run-up to remove the bails.
The incident was referred to the third umpire, who examined the video and decided the batter not out, stating that Rathi had already finished his bowling action when the attempt was made. According to the laws, such a run-out has to happen prior to the delivery stride of the bowler, so RCB’s batter was safe.
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Virat Kohli Visibly Frustrated
The incident sparked fervent responses, with Virat Kohli, an onlooker, clearly angry. The ex-RCB captain was seen gesturing towards the fielding players, unhappy with the interruption and the change in momentum.
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With 7 home-away wins, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be playing Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 against Punjab Kings.