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During the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024 final, Madhya Pradesh captain Rajat Patidar sparked a major controversy after he refused to leave the ground following his team’s innings against Mumbai on Sunday, December 15. At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the TV umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan seemingly made a mistake on a DRS call, which led to Rajat Patidar standing firmly in the middle, following which the decision was overturned on another replay.
Notably, it was the last ball of Madhya Pradesh innings, a slower delivery from Shardul Thakur, which landed outside the popping crease on the off side, and Rajat Patidar missed it despite shuffling across to hit it. When the on-field umpire called it a wide, Mumbai captain Shreyas Iyer took the DRS, and it led to the TV umpire overturning the decision, following which Rajat Patidar was quite displeased with the call, and he refused to leave the ground.
Rajat Patidar's 81 goes in vain as Mumbai win SMAT 2024 Final
After Rajat Patidar urged the on-field umpire to make the TV umpire have another look, KN Ananthapadmanabhan overturned his own decision, which allowed the Madhya Pradesh captain to face another ball in the innings, and it went the distance. On the live broadcast, TV umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan was reportedly heard saying, as per the Indian Express, “Extremely sorry, the ball had pitched outside the popping crease. I did not see that.”
Moreover, Rajat Patidar was the star of the show with the bat for Madhya Pradesh in their batting innings, scoring 81 off 40 with six fours and six maximums, to help them post a competitive total of 174/8 in the SMAT 2024 final. But, a collective batting performance from Mumbai was too good, chasing down the target with 13 balls to spare, to win the coveted trophy for the second time in their history at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
