ICC FREE HIT RULE explained: India got awarded 3 runs after Kohli getting bowled, but why?

The 2022 ICC T20 WC match between India and Pakistan saw controversies rule the roost and one of the them included India being awarded 3 runs after Virat Kohli was bowled off a free hit. 

India required 13 runs off last 3 balls of the match before a marginal no-ball call went in India’s favour.

Right-hand batter Virat Kohli smacked the no-ball over mid-wicket for a maximum. Nawaz then bowled a wide that brought the equation down to 5 runs off 3 deliveries. The Pakistan spinner managed to caste Kohli off the next ball but it didn’t matter since it was a free hit. 

However, Virat Kohli and wk-batter Karthik ran 3 runs even after the ball broke the stumps. Babar and Shadab Khan had a short debate with the umpires over the incident. 

The free hit and dead ball rule followed by ICC, explained

The four ways in which a batsman can be declared out off a free-hit delivery are as follows: Run-out, Handling the ball, Obstructing the field and Hit the ball twice. 

Since Kohli’s mode of dismissal was none of the above, India was legally awarded 3 byes off the ball. This brought the equation down to 3 runs required off 2 deliveries and India managed to chase it. 

Regardless, PAK skipper Babar Azam perhaps wanted no runs to be awarded off it or the ball to be declared dead after it broke the stumps. But it wasn’t a dead ball either. 

Here are the conditions laid by MCC laws of Cricket for a ball being declared DEAD: 

The ball is only declared dead after “it is finally settled in the hands of the keeper or the bowler” or if “a boundary is scored.”

The ball is also dead if the batsman has been dismissed off it: “The ball will be deemed to be dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal”.

Further, LAW 20.1.1 states cases wherein the umpires have the decision-making rights to declare the ball dead. One such instance is when “one or both bails fall from the striker’s wicket before the striker has had the opportunity of playing the ball”.

Since the free-hit ball wasn’t dead and all the rule set for awarding byes was fulfilled, India got 3 off it. 

Former umpiring great Simon Taufel has also tweeted on the issue:

This settles one of the 3 close decisions that shook the match as the rule followed by ICC for a free-hit ball is made clear. 

Also Watch: Hardik Pandya sheds tears while remembering his late father after India’s win over Pakistan

The other 2 other controversial decisions in the game included Axar Patel being declared run-out though it appeared unclear if Md. Rizwan had broken the stumps with the ball and not his hands, and the dipping waist-high full toss from Md. Nawaz being declared a close no-ball. 

However, the best T20I knock from Virat Kohli (82* off 54, with 71 off last 33 balls) deserved a win it got one.