No ball, free hit explained: The rules that sealed Indian victory

India supporters were in delirium at their T20 World Cup win, but those of a Pakistani persuasion were left to mull two umpiring calls in the final over. 

A no ball call for a spinner's full toss above the waist, and then runs taken despite Virat Kohli's stumps being rattled off the subsequent free hit had some scratching their head and diving for the rule book.  

On the fourth ball of the final over of the match, delivered by Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz, Virat Kohli smashed a full toss over the square leg boundary and immediately put his arm out to signal no ball.  

It was incredible presence of mind and clarity in a high-pressure moment from the India maestro in the midst of what he would later describe as his best innings in the format.

Standing at square leg, the decision to adjudicate on height fell to the highly experienced and respected South Africa umpire Marais Erasmus.  

He initially turned and watched Kohli's shot sail towards the boundary, where Asif Ali made an unsuccessful attempt to keep it in the field of play, and initially missed Kohli's call for a no ball.  

After the six was confirmed, Erasmus indicated that the delivery was above the waist, and standing umpire Rod Tucker signalled a no ball. 

Clause 41.7.1 of the Laws of Cricket, and the ICC's T20 World Cup playing conditions, confirm: "Any delivery, which passes or would have passed, without pitching, above waist height of the striker standing upright at the popping crease, is to be deemed to be unfair." 

The Laws were updated in 2017 to remove the distinction between fast and slow bowling – previously slow bowlers were no-balled only for full tosses above shoulder height.

Although the interpretation of whether the ball was above waist height or not remains subjective and at the discretion of the square leg umpire. 

The incident was similar to a captivating Australia v India women's ODI in September last year, when a no ball was called for a waist high full toss that allowed the Aussies to escape with a win.  

On that occasion the third umpire made a decisive intervention to review the call, allowed because Australia allrounder Nicola Carey had been caught off the full toss.  

As Kohli's shot went for six, there was no scope under the ICC's playing conditions to review the no ball decision. 

Pakistan captain Babar Azam was in an animated discussion with Tucker before Erasmus came over form square leg to clarify, which seemed to placate the situation. 

The equation was now six runs from three balls for India, with a free hit to come, and Nawaz, under pressure, delivered a wide.  

Nawaz then delivered an inch-perfect yorker that beat Kohli's bat as he aimed a slog sweep and cannoned into his stumps.  

Unfortunately for Pakistan, it was still a free hit, and for the fielding side confusion reigned.

Nawaz appeared to initially celebrate the wicket, Pakistan keeper Mohammad Rizwan screamed for a dead ball, arms aloft. Shaheen Shah Afridi initially watched what was happening at the crease before turning to give chase, costing valuable seconds. With the stumps broken, Rizwan grabbed a stump out of the ground as the throw came in.  

Experienced Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle on broadcast seemed to suggest it might be a dead ball.  "They take the run, but surely, because it's hit the stumps.... " he said during his call. 

All the while, the 90,000-plus spectators that had filled the MCG roared in delight or anguish. 

There was a similar incident just last week in the Weber WBBL, when Perth's Piepa Cleary missed a scoop attempt on a free hit, was 'bowled' by Annabel Sutherland and the ball raced off to the boundary for four byes to the Scorchers.

Rizwan and Babar pleaded their case to the umpires, and amid such scenes and high stakes, Tucker and Erasmus conferred briefly before Tucker signalled byes, and Nawaz threw the ball into the pitch in despair. 

Clause 21.19.2 of the playing conditions is clear: "For any free hit, the striker can be dismissed only under the circumstances that apply for a no ball".  

In other words, the only way a batter can get out on a free hit is either by being run out, for obstructing the field, or hitting the ball twice. 

So although Kohli was 'bowled' he was not dismissed, meaning the ball remained in play and not dead.

Image Id: 663DC11599F7437B82DBE72AB6BA8E85 Image Caption: Kohli and Ashwin celebrate the winning runs against Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday // AFP

A dead ball can be called by umpires for a number of reasons – a wicket, a boundary, once it settles in the gloves of the 'keeper or is returned to the bowler among the most common – but none of those applied here. 

And with the ball ricocheting off the stumps and past Shaheen in the gully down towards the boundary, India were able to scamper through for three byes.  

Needing two off two, Rizwan was able to stump Dinesh Karthik, swooping on a ball that came off the batter's pads after being angled down the leg side. 

Nawaz fired down leg again to the new batter, but Ravichandran Ashwin calmly watched it slide past behind him for a wide to level the scores, before bunting the final ball over mid-off for the match-winning runs.  

The final over took more than 12 minutes to bowl, but with drama and excitement like that, nobody was complaining.

Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Australia squad: Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Aaron Finch (c), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Australia's fixtures

Oct 22: New Zealand beat Australia by 89 runs

Oct 25: v Sri Lanka, Perth Stadium, 10pm AEDT

Oct 28: v England, MCG, 7pm AEDT

Oct 31: v Ireland, Gabba, 7pm AEDT

Nov 4: v Afghanistan, Adelaide Oval, 7pm AEDT

Click here for the full 2022 T20 World Cup fixture