The incident took place during Bengal’s sixth round Ranji Trophy match against Services at the Kalyani Stadium. Bengal were in a strong position, with Easwaran and Sudip Chatterjee in the crease. Easwaran, eyeing his 28th first-class century, looked to be in control until an extraordinary moment occurred just before the drinks break.
On the last ball of the 41st over, Services bowler Aditya Kumar delivered a full-length ball that Chatterjee pushed back to him. Believing the over to be complete and assuming the ball was dead, Easwaran instinctively stepped out of his crease and started walking forward to get a drink of water.
As Aditya Kumar tried to collect the return, the ball brushed past his fingers and landed on the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Easwaran was already well out of his depth. Initially unaware of what had happened, even the bowler realized the situation only after the stumps were broken. Services Tea appealed and the on-field umpires overturned the decision. The third referee ruled, according to the rules, that Easwaran was getting exhausted.
It was entirely my fault: Easwaran
After the matchday, Easwaran took full responsibility for the incident. He dismissed any debate surrounding the spirit of cricket and stated clearly that the fault was entirely his.
“The innings went very well, but the mistake I made surprised even me. Some might think the opponent could have called me back in the spirit of the match, but that was out of the question. It was completely my fault. I thought the bowler had collected the ball and moved forward instinctively,” he said, as quoted by ESPN.
Bangladesh coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla shared similar thoughts and rejected comparisons with Ian Bell’s famous run-out incident during the 2011 Trent Bridge Test. Shukla stated that the circumstances were different and Services were well within their rights to appeal.
“They may look similar, but you can’t directly compare the two. That was a different era and different circumstances. This was just a mistake by the batsman. That doesn’t mean he has no awareness; he is a senior player, but cricket can be unpredictable. While the opposition could have considered recalling him, but there is nothing wrong with their decision not to do so. Everything was done within the laws of the game,” Shukla said.
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