Cricket fans witnessed some mind-boggling cricket action when two of the most successful Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, locked horns at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday (May 1). The much-awaited clash saw CSK posting 218/4 while batting first, but Mumbai Indians crossed the line in the very last ball of the game. It was Kieron Pollard’s 34-ball 87, which took the five-time champions to a four-wicket triumph. While the cricket world lauded MI’s spectacular show, former Australian spinner Brad Hogg raised a question regarding the spirit of the game. MI vs CSK, IPL 2021 Stat Highlights: Kieron Pollard Shines As Mumbai Indians Register Second-Highest Successful Run-Chase in Competition History.

MI needed two runs of the final ball to win the match. While Kieron Pollard was facing Lungi Ngidi, Dhawal Kulkarni was at the non-striker's end. The Caribbean dasher guided the ball to long-on and successfully took two runs. However, certain replays showed that Kulkarni had left the crease way before Ngidi released the ball.  Taking to Twitter, Hogg shared the same and reignited the mankading debate. “Sorry again for my harp. Last night last ball 2 runs needed and the non-striker again taking advantage. Is this in the spirit of the game?” the former left-arm spinner wrote while sharing the visual. IPL 2021 Points Table Updated.

Brad Hogg's Post!!

A discussion regarding mankading has always divided the cricket fraternity into two halves, and it’s evident that Hogg favours bowlers running out the non-striker’s end. Time and again, bowlers have faced criticism for ‘mankading’ batsmen, but Hogg has shown the other side of the coin. A batsman indeed gets an unfair advantage while taking runs if mankading is not in action.

Notably, many massive figures in the cricket world, including Ricky Ponting, Ben Stokes and James Anderson, have opposed mankading. In contrast, Ravi Ashwin, Zaheer Khan and Harsha Bhogle have supported this norm.

Meanwhile, MI have consolidated their fourth place in the points table with this win, and they would like to continue their winning run. On the other hand, CSK remained in second place despite the defeat, and they would be raring to get back to winning ways.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 02, 2021 10:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).