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Shubham Dubey has controversially lost his wicket to Shardul Thakur in the IPL 2026 clash between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals on Sunday (May 24) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Shubham Dubey was trying to play an attacking shot and wanted to hit the ball towards the leg side boundary. But Shardul smartly changed his pace and bowled a slower ball rather than a fast delivery to confuse the Rajasthan Royals batter and force him to mistime the shot.
Shardul Thakur tricks Shubham Dubey with clever slower delivery at Wankhede Stadium
Shardul Thakur rolled his fingers across the seam while delivering the ball, and that helped the ball slow down and move slightly away from the left-handed batter. Shubham Dubey had already decided to go for a big slog shot and committed fully to the attack before realizing the ball was slower than expected.
Read Also: Watch: Dhruv Jurel sacrifices Dasun Shanaka in horrible run-out during MI vs RR clash
Because of the lack of timing, the ball could not reach the middle of the bat and hit the toe-end. As a result, the ball went high into the air towards the mid-wicket region, where Naman Dhir did not make any mistake. Naman ran in from deep mid-wicket and completed the brilliant catch under pressure.
Shubham Dubey’s wicket sparks controversy in MI vs RR IPL 2026 clash
However, after the wicket, there was a brief moment of drama on the field. As Shardul completed his bowling action, the towel tucked behind him accidentally fell onto the ground. Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara immediately approached the fourth umpire.
The RR team management wanted the match officials to check whether the falling towel distracted Shubham Dubey while he was attempting the shot. The umpires reviewed the incident carefully, and eventually, they ruled that the towel did not affect the batter or disturb his shot.
Read Also: Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur involved in friendly banter during MI vs RR clash
Because of that, the wicket remained valid, and Dubey had to walk back to the pavilion after scoring just 5 runs from 6 balls. Still, many were not convinced with the umpiring decision, questioning the decision and saying it should have been ruled a dead ball because towel had slipped from Thakur’s hand.
Clearly a dead ball with the towel falling out by Shardul Thakur but the umpires just decide to ignore it???
— Aditya Kumar Saroj (@AdiKumarSaroj) May 24, 2026
Rajasthan Royals recover from collapse to post 205 vs Mumbai Indians in must-win clash
Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals were in deep trouble in a must-win IPL 2026 match against Mumbai Indians, but a strong late fightback helped them reach a big total of 206 runs.
At one stage, RR were in serious danger after losing three key wickets inside the first 10 overs. Big names like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (4), Yashasvi Jaiswal (27), and captain Riyan Parag (14) all got out cheaply, putting the team under pressure.
Dasun Shanaka (29) tried to rebuild the innings with Dhruv Jurel (38), but a costly mix-up led to the Sri Lankan all-rounder’s run out in the 11th over, once again slowing RR’s momentum.
Just when it looked like RR would fall short, late fireworks from Jofra Archer (32 off 15 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (19* off 11 balls) pushed the total to 205/8 in 20 overs. Now, RR must win this game to take that fourth playoff spot, but a loss will knock them out of the IPL 2026.
