A controversy emerged on the third day of the one-off Test match between Australia and India at the renowned Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, December 23rd, when the captain of Australia, Alyssa Healy, became the center of attention. The incident occurred in the 80th over of Australia’s second inning when Alyssa Healy moved forward on the pitch and hit a delivery from Harmanpreet Kaur back to the bowler.
Upon seeing Healy out of her designated area, the Indian captain promptly reacted by rapidly recovering the ball and directing it towards the batter. Nevertheless, the Australian player was strategically positioned in the trajectory path and in front of the wickets. Although Kaur made a plea for ‘obstructing the field,’ the on-field umpires did not declare the batsman out even though the ball was beyond the boundary.
As per MCC’s Law 37.1, a batter is considered to be obstructing the field if they intentionally try to hinder or disrupt the fielding team with their words or actions.
The law stipulates that a batsman cannot be declared out for obstructing the field if the blockage or distraction is unintentional, if the obstruction is done to prevent harm, or if the batter makes a second or subsequent strike to properly protect their wicket.
Harmanpreet vs Healy fight – pure CINEMA pic.twitter.com/vAxPH5WJt9
— R.K.𝕏 (@The_kafir_boy_2) December 23, 2023
Following the intense dispute, Harmanpreet Kaur won the ultimate victory by dismissing Healy with a leg before the wicket decision on the subsequent delivery. Healy, executing a deliberate sweep against a direct delivery by the Indian captain, completely failed to make contact with the stroke, resulting in the ball hitting her in the pad. After a thorough examination using the Decision Review System (DRS), the third umpire ruled that she was dismissed for a total of 32 runs.
By the end of the day, Australia’s score in the second inning was 233-5, giving them a lead of 46 runs. Annabel Sutherland (12*) and Ashleigh Gardner (7*) were the batswomen currently playing. Australia chose to bat first after winning the toss and managed to register a modest 219 runs in their initial inning. The hosts achieved a significant score of 406 runs in response, with four batsmen scoring half-centuries. With only a single day left, the match has the potential to be exhilarating.
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