In a Ranji Trophy plate league match, Manipur’s Lamabam Ajay Singh was given out in one of the rarest fashions: he was given out for hitting the ball twice. The incident happened in a game against against Meghalaya in Surat. What made the incident bizarre was that Ajay had hit the ball the second time with his bat to prevent it from hitting the stumps. He had initially defended the delivery from Meghalaya’s Aryan Bora, but when the ball started to make its way to the stumps, he intervened with his bat.
The operative part about double bat dismissals in the MCC laws is contained in Clause 34.1.1. Here is what Clause 34.1.1 of the MCC Laws state about such a dismissal:
“A striker is out ‘hit the ball twice’ if, while the ball is in play, it makes contact with any part of their body or bat, and the striker then wilfully strikes it a second time with the bat or with any part of the body (other than a hand not holding the bat), before a fielder touches the ball – except when the second strike is solely to protect their wicket.”
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the batter or the Manipur cricket team did not protest the decision of the umpire, even though it seemed like he had a case to make.
But there were others who spoke up for Ajay. On his X handle, Ravichandran Ashwin mentioned the incident.
“Today I got out in gully cricket for the rarest crime ever — hitting the ball twice. First shot: defended. Second shot: panic swipe to save my stumps. Third thing: the entire lane shouting “OUTTT!” louder than a World Cup final. Lamabam Singh was given out for hitting the ball twice in a Ranji Trophy game. It’s out only in gully cricket and not according to the actual laws of the game,” the former India cricketer posted on his X handle.
