The South Africa vs Bangladesh match in T20 World Cup 2024 turned out to be an absolute thriller, with the Proteas securing a narrow 4-run victory against the Bangla Tigers on Monday. Bangladesh looked to be in a strong position to win the contest, especially when they needed 27 runs to reach the target from the last 4 overs. However, a DRS loophole worked in South Africa’s favour, and resulted in Bangladesh being robbed of a boundary, which in the end turned out to be the difference-maker.

It all happened in the 17th over of Bangladesh’s batting, when Mahmudullah and Towid Hridoy were in the middle. The second ball of the over saw Mahmudullah attempt a flick but the ball hit his pads and raced to the boundary behind the stumps.

The umpire raised his finger following a strong appeal by the South Africans, and the ball was deemed dead. Bangladesh reviewed the call and DRS showed that the ball wouldn’t have hit the stumps, hence the on-field umpire had to reverse his decision.

However, despite the decision being reversed, the boundary was not credited to Bangladesh’s total, as the ball was considered dead after the umpire raised his finger. Even though the umpire was wrong, the dead ball call couldn’t be overturned, as per the current ICC rules of the game.

Mahmudullah was wrongly given out LBW, and ball went for 4 leg byes. The decision was reversed on DRS but Bangladesh didn’t get the 4 runs as ball is dead once batter is given out. And South Africa won by exactly 4 runs. Tragic indeed#tapmad #HojaoADFree #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/A2KmVVLYB0

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) June 10, 2024

Several social media users suggested that Mahmudullah became the victim of a loophole in the rulebook, including former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer.

“Mahmudullah was wrongly given out LBW, the ball went for four leg byes. The decision was reversed on DRS. Bangladesh didn’t get the 4 runs as ball is dead once batter given out, even if wrongly. And SA ended up winning the game by 4 runs. Feel for Bangladesh fans,” Jaffer posted on X.

Mahmudullah was wrongly given out LBW, the ball went for four leg byes. The decision was reversed on DRS. Bangladesh didn’t get the 4 runs as ball is dead once batter given out, even if wrongly. And SA ended up winning the game by 4 runs. Feel for Bangladesh fans. #SAvBAN #T20WC

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) June 10, 2024

What does the ICC rule say?

Here’s what the ICC rulebook says on the matter:

3.7.1 If following a Player Review request, an original decision of Out is changed to Not out, then the ball is still deemed to have become dead when the original decision was made (as per clause 20.1.1.3). The batting side, while benefiting from the reversal of the dismissal, shall not benefit from any runs that may subsequently have accrued from the delivery had the on-field umpire originally made a Not out decision, other than any No ball penalty that could arise under paragraph 3.3.5 above.

3.7.2 If an original decision of Not out is changed to Out, the ball shall retrospectively be deemed to have become dead from the moment of the dismissal event. All subsequent events, including any runs scored, shall be ignored.

Law 20.1.1.3 of the Dead Ball law (the most important law in cricket) states that “a batter is dismissed. The ball will be deemed to be dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal.”