Manipur player Lamabam Ajay Singh was out in a very unusual way during the Ranji Trophy Plate League match against Meghalaya this Tuesday, November 18. Lamabam Singh was dismissed for “hitting the ball twice,” making it one of the rarest ways a batter can be out.
Lamabam Singh defended a ball bowled by Aryan Bora. The ball then started rolling slowly back towards his stumps. He quickly used his bat to stop it from going any further. People watching the game said the ball was actually heading toward the stumps when Lamabam Singh struck it a second time.
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However, the way he stopped it was the problem. He chose to use his bat to hit it a second time. An official present at the venue said, “He could’ve padded it away, but he chose to stop it with his bat and was immediately given out ‘hit the ball twice’ by umpire Dharmesh Bhardwaj. The batter walked off the moment Meghalaya appealed.” Lamabam Singh himself did not argue with the umpire’s decision.
Why is this Out?
According to Law 34.1.1, a batter is out for ‘hitting the ball twice’ if they purposely hit the ball a second time with their bat or body before a fielder touches it. The only time this is allowed is if the second hit is done only to stop the ball from hitting the stumps. Since Lamabam Singh chose to use his bat to stop the rolling ball, he broke the rule.
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Lamabam Singh’s 20-ball score of zero is only the fifth time this dismissal has happened in the entire history of the Ranji Trophy. The last player to be out this way was Dhruv Mahajan in 2005-06.
The rare dismissal was part of a poor performance by Manipur’s lower order, which allowed Meghalaya to take an 88-run lead. Manipur now needs to push for a draw, as just one point would be enough for them to finish in the top two and play in the Plate final.