India which entered the World Cup as hot favourites with a lot of expectations is living up to the expectations certainly. Men In Blue are on a roll as the team won four consecutive wins. India is on a roll with back-to-back wins and fans are very confident that this time we will lift the trophy.
In the fourth match, India and Bangladesh locked horns. India won the match. More than the victory, people are talking about the century of King Kohli. Virat Kohli scored a brilliant century and brought his third century in the World Cup tournaments.
Social media is filled with appreciation posts praising the King. Virat Kohli now has the 48th century in the ODI format and the 78th century overall. The former skipper is only next to Sachin Tendulkar who has a century of centuries in his glorious career.
However, there is an unsung hero behind Virat Kohli’s century who is Umpire Richard Kettleborough. His decision to refuse to give a wide ball played a big role that paved the way for the century. This happened in the 42nd over of the Indian innings.
By the end of the 41st over, Virat Kohli was at 97 and he needed three runs to reach a three-figure score. However, India needs just two runs for the victory. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed bowled the 42nd over. The delivery he bowled went down the leg side.
However, Umpire Richard Kettleborough did not consider the delivery as wide. Next Virat Kohli scored a big maximum and reached the century. In the process, he also took the team to another victory in the tournament. Everyone is saying that Umpire Richard Kettleborough has a big role to play in this and he is the unsung hero in this.
Looking at the issue from a critical point of view, the Umpire not giving it a wide might have to do with the chances in the rules. As per the changes made to the 22.1.1 in the MCC Laws of Cricket, the position where the batsman stands can determine whether the ball is wide or not.