Rajasthan Royals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been left puzzled by the umpires’ decision to change the ball on their own because of the dew in the IPL match against Chennai Super Kings here, and has called for consistency while taking such decisions.
The heavy dew at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday night forced the umpires to intervene and change the ball during the chase, leaving Ashwin, who returned figures of 2/25, “surprised.”
The Royals defeated the four-time IPL champions by three runs in a last-ball thriller, with CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja unable to score 21 runs off the last over in their chase of 176 for victory.
Ashwin said he had never before seen the umpires changing the ball because of excessive dew.
“I’m quite surprised the umpires changed the ball for dew on their own. It’s never happened before and I’m quite surprised. Some of the decisions in this year’s IPL on the field have left me a little flummoxed to be honest,” said the India stalwart at the post-match press conference.
“I mean, (it) left me flummoxed in a good or a bad way. It’s because I think what you need is a little bit of balance,” said Ashwin, who was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’.
“As a bowling team, we are not asking for the ball to be changed. But the ball was changed on the
umpires’ accord.”