New Delhi, May 8: His dismissal was the turning point. The dismissal decision too created a bit of doubt, as the TV replays from one particular angle, indicated that the fielder might have just touched the boundary rope.
That is the reason Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson on Tuesday had a chat with the on-field umpire after he was declared out after he reviewed his dismissal.
Well, Samson was not the only one who doubted the verdict. Many in the stadium, including RR director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara too were not convinced that the fielder did not touch the boundary rope.
But Samson has been fined 30 per cent of his match fees for "showing dissent at an umpire's decision" during RR's match against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, on Tuesday.
Samson’s fine knock of 86 off 46 came to an end in dramatic circumstances when Shai Hope took a screamer of a catch at long-on, just millimetres away from the boundary rope off Mukesh.
It appeared that Hope had successfully caught the ball and several replays supported this claim, but a different angle cast some doubt on the legitimacy of the catch. Despite this uncertainty, the third umpire ultimately trusted the first two replays and declared Samson out.
The RR skipper looked unsatisfied with the quick decision-making but initially headed towards the dugout. However, he then reversed course and returned to argue with the umpires.
"Samson committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 of the IPL's Code of Conduct. He admitted to the offence and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction," the BCCI/IPL statement read.
"For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding," it added.
Asked about the incident later Ricky Ponting, the head coach of DC quipped that IPL organisers need to have hotspots in the boundary-lines as well. (With IANS support)