In cricket, many unusual moments take place that no one can even imagine. Sometimes players get out in ways that are extremely rare.
Manipur’s Lamabam Singh became a victim of one such rare dismissal during a Ranji Trophy Plate League match against Meghalaya in Surat. He was given out in one of the rarest ways in cricket — “hit the ball twice.”
Lamabam had defended a delivery bowled by Aryan Bora, but the ball slowly started rolling back towards the stumps. To stop it, he tapped the ball again with his bat. People present at the match told ESPNcricinfo that the ball was indeed heading towards the stumps, and the batsman tried to save his wicket by striking the ball a second time. However, neither the batsman nor his team protested the umpire’s decision.
A ground official told ESPNcricinfo that Lamabam could have stopped the ball with his pad, but he chose to use his bat. Umpire Dharmesh Bhardwaj immediately gave him out for “hit the ball twice.” As soon as Meghalaya appealed, the batsman walked off the field.
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According to MCC Rule 34.1.1, if the ball is in play and after hitting the striker’s bat or body, the batsman intentionally strikes the ball a second time with the bat or body (except with the hand not holding the bat) before a fielder touches the ball, he will be given out “hit the ball twice.” The only exception is when the second hit is purely to protect the wicket.
The last time such a dismissal happened in the Ranji Trophy was during the 2005–06 season, when Jammu & Kashmir captain Dhruv Mahajan was dismissed in the same manner against Jharkhand. Before that, only three Ranji players had ever been dismissed this way — K. Bavanna (Andhra, 1963–64), Shahid Parvez (J&K, 1986–87), and Anand George (Tamil Nadu, 1998–99).
On Tuesday, Lamabam faced 20 balls before getting out for 0. In the match, Manipur conceded a lead of 88 runs to Meghalaya. Manipur will now try to save the match with a draw. Even one point from this match will be enough for them to secure a top-two spot and qualify for the Plate Final.