Quinton de Kock’s dismissal in the 2nd T20I raised quick confusion among fans, as many expected it to be given stumped, but the umpires correctly ruled it run-out.

The incident happened when Varun Chakaravarthy bowled a flatter ball outside off, de Kock under-edged it, and the ball bounced once before swinging backward into Jitesh Sharma’s gloves. De Kock instinctively stepped out of his crease—not to play the ball, but because he thought there was a run available after the mis-hit. However, the ball unexpectedly deflected back towards the keeper, who collected it cleanly and broke the stumps with de Kock still outside the crease.

Because de Kock had shown intention to run, even momentarily, the law automatically classifies it as run-out, not stumped.

ICC Rule Explanation (Why it’s Run-Out, Not Stumped)

According to ICC Men’s T20I Playing Conditions – Law 38.1 (Run Out):

A batter is run out if, while the ball is in play, they are out of their ground and attempt or feign an attempt to run.

And ICC Law 39.1 (Stumped) clearly states:

A stumping is only valid if the batter is out of their ground without attempting a run.
If there is an attempt to run, the dismissal becomes run-out.

What happened in this case

  • De Kock mis-hit the ball and started to move forward, anticipating a run.

  • His bat lifted and moved in motion towards the non-striker’s end — a clear feint to run, even if he aborted it immediately.

  • The ball, after bouncing, unexpectedly curled back into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.

  • Since de Kock was attempting a run (or feigning one), the only legal dismissal option was run-out.

So—even though Jitesh Sharma broke the stumps in a manner identical to a stumping—the batter’s intent changed the law applied.