Credit: Twitter
When Virat Kohli was taking a strike at 97 not out, with India needing two runs to win against Bangladesh, Nasum Ahmed bowled the first delivery down the leg side, which Richard Kettleborough didn’t give as a wide. The smirk on the face of the umpire made the cricket fans believe that he wanted the Indian batting superstar to reach his 48th ODI hundred in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, but it might not actually be the case, as per the new wide ball rule.
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In March of 2022, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced a new Code of Laws to affect Clause 22.1.1, which was set to take effect from October 1st of that year, as per the report in Wisden. The statement from MCC stated, “In the modern game, batters are, more than ever, moving laterally around the crease before the ball is bowled. It was felt unfair that a delivery might be called ‘Wide’ if it passes where the batter had stood as the bowler entered his/her delivery stride.
“Therefore, Law 22.1 has been amended so that a Wide will apply to where the batter is standing, where the striker has stood at any point since the bowler began their run-up, and which would also have passed wide of the striker in a normal batting position,” it further read.
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Now, if we closely examine the first ball of the 42nd over from Nasum Ahmed, the former Indian captain Virat Kohli was in an open stance, with his front foot planted outside the leg stump. If the 34-year-old had stayed in his batting position, then the ball delivered down the leg side would have struck him on the pads, instead, he moved inside the line of the ball, which might have prompted Richard Kettleborough to not call it a wide.
Either way, Virat Kohli smashed the third ball of the 42nd over for a six off Nasum Ahmed, to bring up his 48th hundred, the first in the ODI World Cup in eight years. With this match-winning shot at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, he also ensured that Team India went 4-0 in the ongoing quadrennial spectacle.
