The record for the most run outs in an innings came about during the match between Mumbai Indians And Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2008 where 5 run outs occurred during the MI innings including 3 in a single over! Below we explore the story of one of the most remarkable finishes to an IPL match in the tournament’s history.
The game played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai saw KXIP bat first and post 184 thanks in no small part to a century stand between Aussie left-handers Luke Pomersbach and Shaun Marsh.
Mumbai Indians started their reply with Sanath Jayasuriya looking to make an early dent in the total and when he was out for 20 from 12 balls, Tendulkar and Dwayne Smith eased MI along at about 10 an over until Smith became the first run out of the innings following a contenious decision.
The run out occured as a result of a mix up between Tendulkar and Smith who was the non-striker. Tendulkar sent his man back but before Smith could reach his ground the stumps were broken with the West Indian short of his ground. Controversy reigned however when replays appeared to show Piyush Chawla breaking the stumps with his arm potenitally before the ball was in his hand. The 3rd umpire decided that Chawla did indeed have the ball in the hand of the arm he used to break the stumpes and Smith was sent on his way.
After the match, Mumbai Indians lodged a complaint about the 3rd umpire both in regards the Smith run out and a run out from the KXIP innings which for similar reasons to the controversy surrounding the Smith run out was not given out despite it appearing that Luke Pomberbach’s throw had hit the stumps directly rather than the bails being disturbed by a nearby fielder.
The match went on and with Tendulkar still at the crease and set, Mumbai were favourites to chase down the target. However, the Little Master became the 2nd run out of the innings again following a mix-up between the batsmen when Robin Uthappa defended the ball into the leg-side and Tendulkar looking for a quick single was unable to get back in his ground at the non-strikers end before Irfan Pathan swopped on the ball, picked it up and threw down the stumps.
Things threatened to unravel quickly after that with Shaun Pollock out first ball and Uthappa following him back to the pavillion during the same over. The flurry of wickets left Mumbai needing 19 runs off the final over and what a final over it was!
It started with Vikram Singh bolwing a waist high full toss that was not only called a no ball but was also hit for 6 by Siddharth Chitnis. Suddenly the equation of 12 from 6 balls seemed far more manageable and things seemed to be swinging even further in Mumbai’s favour when Siddharth Chitnis hit the next ball into the deep only for Srivastava to drop the catch and concede 4 in the process. 8 was now needed from 5 balls and this is when the madness really got started!
Next ball Siddharth Chitnis again hit hard into the deep although this time along the ground and again it was towards Srivastava. No doubt still thinking on his dropped catch, Srivastava fumbled the ball and the batsmen turned for a 2nd run. However, once he had the ball in his hand Srivastava sent in a bullet throw to the keeper’s end where Kaul whipped off the bails to leave Siddharth Chitnis run out.
With the equation 6 from 3 we then got yet another run out and yet more action involving Srivastava on the boundary. This time Dilhara Fernando hit it hard into the offside where Srivastava made a tumbling stop. Mahela Jayawardene was on hand to pick up the pieces and as Nehra turned to try and steal a 3rd run, his throw came in for Kaul to once again enact the run out.
Mumbai were 9 down and needing 4 runs from the last 2 balls. It should have finished there and then with yet another run out as Yeligati mistimed a drive that went no where before the non-striker called him through for a single. Yeligati didn’t respond quickly enough and had Vikram Singh’s throw at the non-strikers end hit then it would have completed the run out. Instead he missed and the batsmen were able to scamper an over throw!
Last ball and Mumbai Indians needed 2 to win or 1 for a super over. KXIP brought the field up and Yeligati drove a full length ball which Yuvraj Singh at short extra cover leapt to intercept. With the batsmen having his head down charging for the run and the bowler left stranded in mid pitch, Yuvraj opted to enter into a foot race as he sprinted to the non-strikers end and leapt full length a la Jonty Rhodes to demolish the stumps and bring about a record breaking 5th run out in the match and 3rd in the over!
The defeat ended MI’s 6 game winning run and ultimately cost them a spot in the playoffs for the 2008 IPL.
You can view the scorecard for the innings with the most run outs in the IPL here
You can view the thrill a minute highlights of the match which produced the most run outs in the IPL here