the tie and the 5 ball over at Adelaide

Elementary, My Dear – most Umpires wear coats and you would find that often their hands are inside their packets !!***

It was once a rarity – it has occurred only twice in Tests  - the first of its kind between Australia and West Indies in Dec 1960 and the other one at Chepauk Stadium in Sept 1986 when Greg Mathews got Maninder Singh out. 

Though it was the first of its kind in 131 One dayers between India and Sri Lanka, it was the 26^th tie in One dayers and certainly not the first one involving India.  In fact the last three ties all involved India – the one of yesterday; the one against England at Lords in Sept 11 and the one at Bangalore during WC 2011. 

Team	Ground	Match Date	Scorecard
West Indies	W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth	6th Dec 91	ODI # 692
Zimbabwe	Nehru Stadium, Indore	18th Nov 93	ODI # 852
Zimbabwe	Boland Park, Paarl	27th Jan 97	ODI # 1169
England	M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	27th Feb 11	ODI # 3110
England	Lord's, London	11th Sept 11	ODI # 3191
Sri Lanka	Adelaide Oval	14th Feb 12	ODI # 3239

Even his worst detractors would accept that this man does not throw tantrums and does not show off his emotions even at the time of worst distraught – that is MS Dhoni for you – cool for his supporters and non-emotive for others !!

At Adelaide, India made a mess of a small chase but Dhoni remained there to ensure that India did not lose..    Mahela summed up the feelings at the Presentation stating that when you have MS batting through, it is always going to be tough.  At the end of 50 overs Indians were 236/9 exactly what Lankans had made.  Dhoni used the chance to take a dig at DRS and stated that 2 Umpires in the middle and the match referee and the scorer – yet all this happened ! Better off accepting it because we humans are bound to make mistakes.

If you are wondering what it is all about – here it is : After 29 overs Indians were 126/4 – 111 required from 21 overs with 6 wickets looked simple.  29.1 – Dhoni took a single; 29.2 Gambhir pulled to fineleg for a 4;  29.3 – single to square; 29.4 Dhoni clips for a brace; 29.5 another single for Dhoni.  9 runs and Umpire signalled a over

Yes a 5 ball over at that.. it could have occurred earlier.. but in an age of computers and other gadgets, TV Umpire, and so many other things – could not a signal be sent to the field Umpire pointing out the error and ensure that in fairness the sixth ball is delivered ?  Why no body speaks on that ?

On a day of scores tied off the last ball, would that missing ball have made the difference ??

The final over was different.  India required 9 off 6.  Dhoni was on 51 and Vinaykumar had yet to face one.  Off the first Dhoni ran hard to get 2; second yielded a single; 3^rd Vinay tapped for a single; 4^th gave another one to Dhoni.  So 4 needed of 2.  Vinaykumar played to midoff and set off, Mathews under arm lob hits the stumps – no run but strike rotated and Dhoni to play the last ball. 4 required – Malinga fired it full and wide, Dhoni scooped it over extra cover and ran 3.  scores tied and hence the result. 

Good that India and Dhoni  do not want to create controversy about the five-ball 30th over that may or may not have made a difference to the final result of a tight game, a tie.   No Official complaint – another controversy avoided…………. But still it was a match which India should have won easily !

*** In olden days, Umpires used to carry pebbles and keep them in their coat pockets; after each delivery one pebble would get transferred from one packet to the other – simple way of counting the no. of balls in an over !!!!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.