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OUT or NOT OUT? Rajat Patidar Dismissal in GT vs RCB Sparks Massive Controversy - Here's What the Law Says

Cricket Gully | May 1, 2026 12:39 AM CST

An intense controversy was generated in the 42nd match of IPL 2026 between Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While it was Rajat Patidar's dismissal, discussions and arguments broke out in the middle after the smart catch taken by Jason Holder was disputed by the RCB camp.

This moment occurred on the 4th delivery of eighth over which was bowled by Arshad Khan. The bowler went for a short ball that was met with a pull shot from Rajat Patidar. The batter, however, got a top edge which was traveling towards deep backward square leg. Jason Holder swiftly ran to his right, dived, and managed to complete the catch at full stretch. As soon as Holder caught the ball, some RCB players were heard protesting about it suggesting the fielder to have touched the ground.

However, the umpires signaled it as out and this was the beginning of a lively discussion between Andy Flower and the fourth umpire. Regardless, Patidar had to walk back to the pavilion for 19 off 15 balls. His innings was studded with 2 boundaries and a six.

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What the Laws of Cricket Say About the Catch

To determine whether this was actually a legitimate catch or not, we have to go to the Laws of Cricket, more specifically Law 33.2.2.1. It states the ball is in the hands of a fielder if:

"The ball is held in the hand or hands of a fielder, even if the hand holding the ball is touching the ground, or is hugged to the body, or lodges in the external protective equipment worn by a fielder, or lodges accidentally in a fielder’s clothing."

The Law makes it very clear that the ball can still be caught even if part of the fielder is touching the floor, providing it is securely held in the fielder's hands. The catch is also determined to have been completed when the ball is held "securely". A second relevant Law, Law 33.3 clarifies what this means in relation to control over the ball:

"The act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder’s person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement."

A simple interpretation of this is that the catch is still valid even if there is some contact with the floor during the catch, so long as the fielder is able to exert control over both the ball and his or her own movements.

From the available replays, even though the ball came in contact with the floor, Jason Holder had complete control over the ball at the point he completed the catch, and therefore Rajat Patidar was rightly given out. This provided another interesting twist to a captivating encounter between GT and RCB.