Suraj Randiv bowling a no ball resulted in Virender Sehwag not getting a century and remaining not out on 99. Controversy followed. Suraj Randiv apologised to Virender Sehwag. Sri Lanka Cricket Board fined Suraj Randiv and suspended him for one match and fined Tilakaratne Dilshan for telling Suraj Randiv to bowl a no ball. Captain Kumara Sangakkara was warned to see that such incidents do not happen.
Many people talk of sportsman spirit but Virender Sehwag had kicked the ball beyond the boundary to deprive Hashim Amla the strike. Teams play to win matches. Bowlers don’t make it easy for the batsman unless the match is fixed.
People presume Virender Sehwag would have hit a century because he hit the ball beyond boundary and it would have been a six if the match had not been over due to no ball. That is probability and not certainty. Virender Sehwag could have been out bowled, or caught and bowled, or LBW, or hit wicket or stumped. In a Test he had been out stumped.
India won the match and that should have mattered. Before the no ball Suraj Randiv had bowled two balls and Virender Sehwag did not score any run. If Suraj Randiv had bowled a wide there would not have been such uproar as it would have been difficult to prove it was intentional. Suraj Randiv had not bowled any no ball previously so it was easy to say it was intentional.
Some feel Virender Sehwag should not have tweeted about Suraj Randiv’s apology.
There is no need to change the no ball rule to allow Virender Sehwag to have century.
Would there have been such uproar if Virender Sehwag had bowled a no ball to deprive a Sri Lankan batsman century?
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