IPL 2019: Virat Kohli tears into 'ridiculous' umpiring says, 'we are not playing club cricket'

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Bengaluru, March 28: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli slammed poor umpiring during their match against Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 here on Thursday (March 28).

RCB needed 17 from the final six deliveries and young Shivam Dube started the proceedings for the host team well when he clobbered seasoned campaigner Lasith Malinga for a maximum on the first delivery. The Sri Lanka pacer, however, came back strongly and conceded just 4 runs from the next five deliveries.

IPL 2019 Special Site | Full Schedule | RCB vs MI: As it happened

A hapless RCB dugout was stunned to see that the on-field umpire failed to see Malinga overstep on the final delivery and signal a No ball. The umpiring blunder, which wasn't the first in the match, miffed the RCB captain.

The hosts required 7 runs from the last ball and if it had been called a No-Ball, the RCB would have got another chance to seal the game with well-set AB de Villiers on the strike to face that free hit delivery. Given the kind of form the former South Africa cricketer was in, De Villiers could have taken his team over the line as they would have needed just a six.

Slamming the umpire for not spotting the No ball on the final delivery, a visibly livid Kohli, during the post-match presentation, said, "We are playing at the IPL level and not playing club cricket. The umpires should have had their eyes open. That is a ridiculous call (last ball). If it is a game of margins, I don't know what is happening. They should have been more sharp and careful out there."

Victorious Mumbai Indians' skipper Rohit Sharma too agreed with Kohli's observation and said the umpires should have taken the help of the third umpires for such lapses are not good for the game of cricket.

"I just got to know when we crossed the rope. Somebody just told me it was a no-ball. These kind of mistakes are not good for the game of cricket, it's pretty simple. The over before that Bumrah bowled a ball which wasn't wide. Those are game-changers. There's a TV up there, they have to watch what's happening. It is as simple as that. Players can't do much. The only thing they can do is walk off and shake hands because it was the last ball. It's disappointing to see that. I hope they rectify their mistakes like we do when we make mistakes," said Rohit during the post-match presentation.

Mumbai Indians defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 runs in a nail-biting high-scoring thriller. Jasprit Bumrah (20/3) was awarded the man of the match after Hardik Pandya's 14-ball 32 guided his team to a respectable total.

Yuzvendra Chahal (38/4) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB but his brilliant effort resulted in a losing cause.