Pakistan opener Muneeba Ali was run out against India during a Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 match on Sunday at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, which momentarily forced everyone to flip through the rule book.
It was in the fourth over that Muneeba was run out by Deepti Sharma, with the bat being in the air when the bails came off. However, the Pakistan players and skipper Fatima Sana appealed to the umpires that Muneeba had, in fact, grounded her bat first before lifting it again.
So, why was Muneeba given out and what do the rules say?
MCC Rule 30.1.1 says that a batter shall be considered to be out of his/her ground unless some part of his/her person or bat is grounded behind the popping crease at that end.
Rule 30.1.2 then adds on “However, a batter shall not be considered to be out of his/her ground if, in running or diving towards his/her ground and beyond, and having grounded some part of his/her person or bat beyond the popping crease, there is subsequent loss of contact between the ground and any part of his/her person or bat, or between the bat and person.”
However in this situation, Muneeba wasn’t deemed ‘running or diving towards his/her ground and beyond’. Hence, the umpires stuck with their decision in the end.
Published on Oct 05, 2025