Explained: Why Virat Kohli's dismissal against KKR in IPL 2024 was not a no-ball

Virat Kohli was dismissed after scoring 18 runs with two sixes and one four.

Virat Kohli was fuming when he was given out in a contentious decision in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday. This match is being played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on April 21, 2024.

RCB captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and chose to field. RCB made three changes to their XI with Mohammed Siraj, Karn Sharma, and Cameron Green coming into the playing XI.

Phil Salt got KKR off to an excellent start in this innings, smashing 48 off 14 balls, including seven fours and three sixes. Captain Shreyas Iyer hit 50 runs in 36 overs, and Rinku Singh (24), Andre Russell (27*), and Ramandeep Singh (24*) helped KKR to 222/6.

In response, Virat Kohli gave an ideal start to RCB, as he hit Harshit Rana for a six and a four in the first over of RCB innings. Kohli, with 361 runs in seven innings, is at the top of the Orange Cap leaderboard.

He then hammered Mitchell Starc for an effortless six as well. However, Harshit Rana had the last laugh. Rana threw a high full ball, which shocked Kohli, who attempted to play it awkwardly, resulting in a return catch for the KKR bowler.

However, the height of the ball was disputed, and with the on-field umpire ruling it out, Kohli quickly requested a DRS review. The TV umpire assessed the dismissal and then matched the height of the ball to Kohli’s waist height, concluding that the ball had dropped sufficiently to be considered a fair delivery.

Here is why Virat Kohli’s dismissal of the high full toss was valid

Though Virat Kohli was not happy with the dismissal as he felt the ball was very high when it made contact with the bat, the TV umpire used the modern Hawk-Eye technology to determine the fairness of the delivery.

To eliminate the subjective factor in adjudicating no-balls above the waist this season, the IPL has added technology to assess the height of the ball as it passes the batsman at the popping crease.

This is then compared to the batter’s toe-to-waist height when standing upright, which has already been measured and recorded. If the ball’s height exceeds the reported height of the batter’s waist, it is considered a no-ball. Otherwise, it is a fair delivery.

In Virat Kohli’s dismissal, Michael Gough, the TV umpire, assessed to see if the delivery was legal for height, and according to the new Hawk-Eye ball tracking technology, the ball would have passed the batter at 0.92 meters off the ground if he had been erect at the crease.

The height of Kohli’s waist has been assessed at 1.04 meters, implying that the ball would have gone below his waist if he had been on his crease rather than outside it, making it a legal delivery.

In this case, the projected trajectory of the ball would have taken it 0.12 meters below Kohli’s waist had he been upright on his crease.

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