India survived a scare against Japan on Tuesday, edging the hosts by two runs in a rain-hit one-off T20 International that was reduced to five overs per side at the Sano International Cricket Stadium.Japan needed six runs from the last four balls while chasing India’s 32 for 4. But the match took another turn when a wide call was reversed after protests from India.Left-handed batter Alexander Shirai-Patmore attempted a reverse-hit against Axar Patel and missed the ball, which went well down the leg side. The umpire called it a wide. The same sequence was repeated off the next delivery, with another wide called.The second wide decision was also initially given, but after Axar and India captain Shreyas Iyer protested, the umpire spoke to the leg umpire, New Zealand’s Chris Brown, and reversed the decision.The equation then returned to six runs from three balls. Japan could score only three more runs and finished on 30 for 3, with India winning by two runs.The result gave India the record for the lowest total successfully defended in T20 cricket. It was also the first men’s T20 meeting between India and Japan.India had struggled with the conditions after choosing to bat. The surface was sluggish and the outfield was slow, making it difficult for the batters to score freely. Iyer was the only Indian batter to reach double figures, scoring 16.
What do the laws say?
In white-ball cricket, a delivery that passes down the leg side is generally called a wide. The rule is intended to prevent negative bowling in limited-overs cricket.However, the rise of reverse sweeps and switch-hits has led to questions over how the rule should apply when a batter moves across and attempts such shots.The MCC‘s Law 22.4.1 says, “the umpire shall not adjudge a delivery as being a Wide, if the striker, by moving, either causes the ball to pass wide of him/her, as defined in 22.1.2 or brings the ball sufficiently within reach to be able to hit it by means of a normal cricket stroke.”The laws do not specifically mention reverse sweeps or switch-hits, leaving some room for interpretation when a batter changes position and misses a delivery that would otherwise have been called wide.The MCC also sets out when an umpire can change a decision. Law 2.12 states: “An umpire may alter any decision provided that such alteration is made promptly and does not contradict Law 20.6 (Dead ball not to be revoked). This apart, an umpire’s decision, once made, is final.”
