On Tuesday, the Mumbai Indians displayed their championship-winning form with a dominant batting performance, posting 192/5 on a slow pitch in Hyderabad. Their bowlers continued the same level of excellence, reducing the hosts to 26/2 in four overs.
Arjun Tendulkar, the young left-arm pacer, almost claimed his first IPL wicket in just his second game but was let down by the umpiring. In the fourth ball of his second over, Tendulkar’s delivery to Rahul Tripathi down the leg side missed the batter’s attempted flick and went to the wicketkeeper.
Despite passing close to the bat, the umpire, Nitin Menon, did not signal for a wicket or a wide. Instead, he started walking towards his square-leg colleague while communicating with the third umpire through his headset. This caused confusion, and both Tendulkar and his teammate Ishan Kishan made a loud appeal.
Finally, after some delay, Menon signaled for a wide but drew criticism on social media for using the review system without a clear reason. He had initially considered referring the decision for a bump ball, but replays showed that the ball had not hit the bat and had pitched well short of the batter.
Despite the controversial incident, the Mumbai Indians put in a strong all-around performance and looked like serious contenders for their sixth IPL title.