UP Warriorz head coach Jon Lewis vented out his frustration at Chamari Athapaththu’s dismissal during their 23-run defeat in the WPL 2024 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday (March 4).
During the seventh over of the run chase. Georgia Wareham bowled a tossed-up delivery that dropped in front of Athapaththu, who missed the sweep shot and was struck on the front leg.
The on-field umpire declared it not out but RCB captain Smriti Mandhana opted for a review. The ball was pitched on the leg, and Hawkeye showed that it would have hit the stumps.
The ball-tracking technology left the Warriorz camp shocked as Wareham bowled a leg-spinner. According to the ball tracking system, the ball was pitched in line and would have hit the middle of the middle stump.
What was surprising that the ball travelled in the reverse direction of a conventional leg-spinner after being pitched on the leg.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Lewis called it a fascinating dismissal and a massive turning point in the game.
"You watch the ball with the naked eye, and you think it might pitch in line, just maybe," Lewis said after the game.
"Then you look at the ball rotating, and well, it's rotating like a leg-spinner. There are not many leg spinners that go towards that [other] side. It was a fascinating dismissal and a massive turning point for us in that game."
The UP Warriorz coach further said it was incredibly frustrating to lose Athapaththu in that fashion as the left-right duo of her and skipper Alyssa Healy was making things difficult for RCB.
"Chamari is an amazing player and you saw how difficult it was when a left-hander and a right-hander were batting together, of the quality of Smriti [Mandhana] and Ellyse Perry. And they are able to access the short side of the ground. That was one of the reasons why we picked Chamari, to be able to access the short side of the ground for both the right and the left-hander. So to lose her in that way was incredibly frustrating."
"I don't know the ins and outs of hawk-eye and the technology and how it works. But it was certainly an interesting passage of play, and something that we are pretty frustrated about," said Lewis.
Coming to the match, RCB piled up 198/3 on the board after being asked to bat first. Smriti Mandhana was the top scorer with 80 off 50 balls, while Ellyse Perry made a significant contribution of 37-ball 58.
In reply, UP Warriorz managed to post 175/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Alyssa Healy waged a lone battle with the bat, scoring 55 off 38 balls. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana starred with the ball for RCB, claiming two wickets each by conceding 29 runs in their four overs.
