In a rare twist straight out of cricket’s rulebook, Manipur’s Ajay Lambam Singh became the first batter in 20 years to be dismissed for hitting the ball twice in Ranji Trophy history. The unusual incident occurred during Manipur’s Plate League match against Meghalaya in Surat.
Lambam was facing a delivery from Aryan Bora when he initially blocked the ball with his bat. However, the ball bounced back towards the stumps, and in an instinctive reaction, he hit it a second time to stop it from hitting the wickets. While the move is generally allowed only to protect the stumps, the umpire, Dharmesh Bhardwaj, promptly gave him out after Meghalaya appealed. Even Lambam didn’t contest the decision.
What MCC Law says?
According to the MCC Law 34.1.1, a batter can be given out if they intentionally hit the ball a second time before a fielder touches it, unless the second hit is solely to protect their wicket. In Lambam’s case, the umpire felt the second strike violated the law, making it one of cricket’s rarest dismissals.
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Rare Instance
This mode of dismissal is extremely uncommon in Ranji Trophy cricket. Before Lambam, the last such instance was in 2005-06 when Jammu & Kashmir captain Dhruv Mahajan was dismissed this way against Jharkhand. Only three others Andhra’s K. Bavanna (1963-64), Shahid Parvez of Jammu & Kashmir (1986-87), and Tamil Nadu’s Anand George (1998-99) have suffered the same fate in Ranji history.
It wasn’t the start Lambam would have hoped for, he fell for a duck off 20 balls. With Manipur losing an 88-run first-innings lead to Meghalaya, the team is now focused on salvaging a draw. A single point from a draw would be enough to finish in the top two and secure a spot in the Plate Final.
Cricket fans rarely see a dismissal like this, and it serves as a reminder that even in domestic cricket, the laws of the game can create truly unusual moments.
