IPL 2019: "Make it a dead ball": Rahane questions umpires after zing bail confusion

The T20 format is a game of fine margins and when Dhawal Kulkarni's delivery kissed Chris Lynn's stumps without dislodging the bails, it created a furor. Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane wasn't impressed and according to him, the delivery should have been considered a dead-ball.

At that point, Lynn was batting on 13. The opener went on to make a fifty and was instrumental in KKR's 8-wicket win over the Royals. However, it could have been so different.

Kulkarni had earlier forced Lynn into a false shot, the ball taking the edge and hitting the leg-stump. To everyone's surprise, while the stump lit up the bails didn't come off. The ball, meanwhile, sailed to the boundary, resulting in four runs.

"The rules are the rules, but I told the umpires, 'at least don't give it as a boundary'. Already the T20 format is so tough for bowlers, and if you get such a situation, at least that ball can be a dead ball," Rahane said after his side had succumbed to yet another defeat in the IPL.

This was the second time the Royals were at the receving end of such a piece of bad fortune. During the game against Chennai Super Kings, Jofra Archer managed to get the better of MS Dhoni and the ball did hit the timber, however, the bails didn't come off and the batsman could steal a single.

In that game, Dhoni scored an unbeaten 75 off 46 balls. Clearly, both the incidents hampered the Royals' chances, playing a major role in their defeats. They now find themselves just above RCB at the seventh spot with 4 defeats from 5 games.

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