The run out mode of dismissal has become part and parcel of Twenty20 cricket. It's touched 210 in three IPL seasons with a lot more to follow.
Not that the fielders have been lax on the field in the traditional Test match and the 50-over games.
Until the Test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Hamilton there have been 2126 instances of run outs in 1957 Tests and 4711 run outs in 2976 one-day internationals, taking into account the last ODI match played between the West Indies and Zimbabwe at Arnos Vale.
Lasith Malinga bowled a lovely yorker-length to Shaun Marsh on Tuesday here at the Brabourne Stadium; this emphatic mode of dismissal in cricket thrilled the packed house at Dinshaw Vaccha Road, just as it did when Kieron Pollard raised his hands and held a catch at the deep mid-wicket fence when Brett Lee swatted the ball.
Same effect
The run out of Mahela Jayawardene had the same effect, too. Speed merchants bowling the batsmen neck and crop and the spinners fooling the batsmen by their cunning thrill the spectators and cause much damage to teams. But in the Twenty20 competition the run out mode of dismissal has turned matches around more often than not.
A first “run out” on Wednesday between Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers, Bangalore or Delhi Daredevils and Rajasthan Royals would have taken the particular mode of dismissal to an exact 50.
Smart fielding and throwing to the keeper and bowler's end, or absence of communication and lack of understanding between the batsmen in the middle has resulted in many a dismissal in the DLF-IPL Twenty20 competition.
High figure
The run outs touched a high figure of 85 in 59 matches played in India in 2008, 76 in 59 matches played in South Africa in 2009 and 49 in the matches played so far (2010) for a total of 210. In the Champions League played last year in India there were 34 run out dismissals.
Jayawardene became the 49th run out victim in this year's IPL while playing against Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium. Clearly he did not vibe well with Australian Shaun Marsh, playing his first IPL match this season. His dismissal after a KXIP recovery prevented his side from setting a formidable target for the home team.
Similarly Yusuf Pathan's run out at an exact individual score of 100 off 37 balls and Paras Dogra's departure at 41 in a similar mode in the match against Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium perhaps prevented the 2008 IPL winner Rajasthan Royals from winning the match.
The Royals lost the match by four runs chasing 212. There was not a single run out in the opening match between Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders at the D.Y.Patil Stadium, but the number of batsmen who have fallen victim failing to beat the smart work of the fielding side has been staggering. Pathan's run out also brought into spotlight an electrifying fielder like Rajagopal Sathish.
Mumbai Indian's fielding coach Jonty Rhodes ought to be delighted at the way the Twenty20 has raised the fielding standards of the teams.
Nearly two decades ago the picture of him running out Inzamam Ul Haq with a direct hit on the stumps in the 1992 World Cup match at Brisbane was prominently featured by the world press.
Regarded as the second best fielder after Colin Bland, the South African has clearly been responsible for excellent fielding by the Mumbai Indians, which is another victory away from making the semi-final.
Batsmen have been run out in a variety of ways; including the bowler on his follow-through deflecting the straight hit onto the stumps. Direct hits have been common and generally the fielding side benefits out of this.
This year's IPL has seen some outstanding piece of work by the fielders even effecting a direct hit from the deep.
Paras Dogra, playing in his first IPL for Rajasthan Royals has run himself out four times and Manvinder Bisla of Kings XI Punjab three times. Murali Kartik, Yusuf Pathan, Venugopala Rao, Andrew Symonds and A.B. de Villiers have been run out two times each.
Overall in three IPL seasons, Venugopala Rao has been run out eight times, Y.Pathan 7 times, Swapnil Shirodkar 6 times and Praveen Kumar five times.
Run outs in Test cricket: (2126) Ricky Ponting (13 including his run out in the first innings at Hamilton against New Zealand), Allan Border, Matthew Hayden (12), Rahul Dravid (11), Gary Sobers and Carl Hooper (10).
One-day internationals : (4711) Marvan Atappatu (41), Inzamam ul Haq (40), Rahul Dravid (39), Wasim Akram and Mohammad Yousuf (38), M. Azharuddin, Mark Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar (32), M. Jayawardene (31), A. Ranatunga (30) and R. Ponting (29) and Allan Border (28)
Run outs in Twenty20 Internationals : (209) M.S.Dhoni and D.Vettori (4 each),
IPL-III: (49 so far) Rajasthan Royals (13), Mumbai Indians (2), Delhi Daredevils (6), Deccan Chargers (9), Chennai Super Kings (5), Kolkata Knight Riders (3), Royal Challengers, Bangalore (4) and Kings XI Punjab (7).
