World Cup moments: When a no-ball blunder meant a ton for Rohit Sharma and heartbreak for Bangladesh

With the 2019 edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup set to begin in May, we look back at the most memorable moments from the tournament’s four-decade long history. You can read the entire series here.

Moment No 30

When it comes to the World Cup and Indian cricket team, anything is possible. And when anything happens, emotions are at an all-time high.

In 2011, India lifted the trophy at home is style with MS Dhoni scoring that iconic six.

In 2007 – the edition before that – India had crashed out in the group stages after opening their campaign with a shock five-wicket loss to Bangladesh.

In 2015, when India and Bangladesh met in the quarter-final, it would have been foolish to expect a straightforward win even though MS Dhoni and Co were unbeaten in the tournament so far

The Tigers had sneaked into the knockout stages with a famous win over England and had become a much more competitive unit in the one-day format. This quarter-final clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was also their chance to show that they were no longer minnows.

That India went on to win the match and then lost to eventual champions Australian in the semi-finals is for the scorecards. In popular discourse, that match actually went down in cricket lore for not the best of reasons – an umpiring blunder.

Player-of-the-match Rohit Sharma was given an additional life after being caught out on a controversial, waist-high no-ball and the runs India added after his reprieve was close to the eventual margin of defeat.

There is nothing that suggests that had Rohit been dismissed at that point that Bangladesh would have won the match. But that is not how fandom works. Bangladesh fans were livid with the decision and there was public outrage in Dhaka. Many of them still seem angry about that one incident. In fact, when Rohit scored a match-winning century in the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final against Bangladesh, social media was full of references towards that fateful no-ball.

Here’s what happened on 19 March 2015 at the MCG.

Batting first, India was under pressure at 115/3 after 28 overs with Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane back in the hut. But opener Rohit was going strong and had Suresh Raina (65 off 57) for company against an attack that had Mashrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Shakib Al Hasan. Together, Rohit and Raina built a steady partnership and had just started building towards a death-overs assault in the Batting Powerplay.

But then came the 40th over by Rubel Hossain that would create one of the biggest controversies at the World Cup. Rohit was batting on 90 off 101 balls and India’s total was 195/3. An errant delivery turned into a full toss and which the batsman scooped to deep mid-wicket… straight to a fielder.

This was it, the chance Bangladesh was waiting for to regain their balance.

But the celebration soon turned to confusion and eventually controversy as square-leg umpire Aleem Dar called a no-ball for height. A front-foot no-ball would perhaps have been a forgettable moment. But this was different.

Replays indicated that while the ball was near the waist, the batsman had played it with a normal stance, suggesting it was not as high. The rules for this can be a grey area, especially with the human element of umpires involved. According to ESPNCricinfo, the ICC protocol suggests that a no-ball can be checked only if there has been a dismissal. With the no-ball called, there was no dismissal.

But the moment second on-field Ian Gould stuck with the decision, it was a done deal. Rohit would stay, even though he and everyone else who saw with the exception of the two umpires, knew he shouldn’t. Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza tried to contest it, but it was not possible.

The opener went on to pile 137 runs off 126 balls as India scored 97 runs in the final 10 overs. In response, the Tigers were dismissed for 193 as Umesh Yadav snared four wickets and India went on to win by 109 runs.

But the displeasure was palpable; in the post-match talks, in the comments from experts, in the tweets from fans and even from the tumult back in Dhaka that saw the trademark effigies being burned.

The International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson had responded to the controversy, “The no-ball decision was a 50-50 call. The spirit of the game dictates that the umpire’s decision is final and must be respected.”

But spirit or no, this was a moment that highlighted once again the many flaws in the application of rules in the sport.