2016 IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad have lodged a protest over the controversial dismissal of their Kane Williamson in their opening match of 2022 season against Rajasthan Royals, says a report by Cricbuzz.

The team management of the Hyderabad-based franchise has written to the Indian Premier League (IPL) officials, protesting the third umpire’s decision against their skipper’s dismissal at the MCA Stadium in Pune on March 29.

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“Yes, we’ve written to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The procedure is that the coach has to write and the process has been followed,” a franchise official from Hyderabad was quoted as saying in the report. It also said that a spokesman for the team management added their protest was also mentioned in the captain’s report which is given to the IPL match referee after each game.

In the match, while chasing a mammoth 211 against Rajasthan, Hyderabad were dealt an early blow when Williamson was caught by Devdutt Padikkal at slip for a seven-ball two in the second over. A delivery from pacer Prasidh Krishna squared up the New Zealand skipper, who poked at it and wicketkeeper-captain Sanju Samson tried to catch it. Samson dived and managed to get one hand to the ball. But it popped out of his hand and an alert Padikkal dived forward to catch the ball.

After the on-field umpires referred the decision to the third umpire, KN Ananthapadmanabhan ruled that the catch was clean though many felt that the ball had bounced before Padikkal completed the catch. Moreover, after the match ended, Williamson was fined INR 12 lakhs for maintaining a slow over rate.

When asked about the Williamson dismissal after Hyderabad lost by 61 runs, head coach Tom Moody was left surprised over his team’s skipper being given out. “We were very surprised that it was given out, particularly when we saw the replay. I can understand the on-field umpires taking it upstairs, and when that happened and we saw the evidence. We’re certainly not umpires, but it looked pretty clear to us what the decision was,” were Moody’s words after the match ended.

Hyderabad’s next match is against IPL newbies Lucknow Super Giants at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Monday.