A rare fielding error by the five-time champions led to an odd no-ball call in the Mumbai Indians vs. Delhi Capitals IPL 2025 match at the Wankhede Stadium. The incident happened in the fifth over when Will Jacks, who was decent with the ball, bowled a real ball that the umpire declared a no-ball for violating field placement rules rather than overstepping or bowling a high full toss.
When Will Jacks was bowling to Vipraj Nigam, the incident happened.
He had already stumped Abishek Porel just one ball earlier. However, the umpire promptly signalled a no-ball due to a lack of fielding discipline. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that MI had broken a game rule by having just three fielders on the offside. A team is not permitted to have more than five fielders on the leg-side at the time of delivery, as per Law 28.4.1 of the MCC Laws of Cricket, which is also applied in the IPL’s playing conditions.
Rule 28.4.1 – “At the instant of delivery, there may not be more than 5 fielders on the one side.”
Rule 28.4.2 – “At the instant of the bowler’s delivery, there shall not be more than two fielders, other than the wicket-keeper, behind the popping crease on the on side. A fielder will be considered to be behind the popping crease unless the whole of his person, whether grounded or in the air, is in front of this line.”
In the moment, Mumbai Indians had placed only three fielders on the off-side, which meant six were on the leg-side, breaching the maximum on-side fielder restriction with the umpires rightly calling it a no-ball.
Notably, Vipraj Nigam capitalised on the extra delivery and the resultant free hit, smashing a six followed by a couple of boundaries. However, Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Santner ran through DC’s middle order to wrap up a 59-run win and confirm Mumbai’s spot in the playoffs.
India
