'Hardik robbed...': Pandya's controversial dismissal sparks debate; Ashwin, Jaffer, Shastri disagree with third umpire
While Hardik Pandya was adjudged out by the third umpire, noted India cricketers R Ashwin, Ravi Shastri and Wasim Jaffer argued it was not as it New Zealand captain Tom Latham's gloves that had brushed the bails and not the ball.
Hardik Pandya's controversial dismissal in the first ODI against New Zealand triggered a debate online, with many fans claiming the all-rounder was not-out. While Pandya was adjudged out by the third umpire, most argued it was not the ball but Tom Latham's gloves that had brushed the bails.
The incident occurred in the 40th over as Pandya tried to defend the ball angling towards him. The ball, which passed very close to the stumps, was collected by the wicketkeeper, who was standing close to the stump, but in the process one of the bails got dislodged. The decision was then referred to the third umpire, who after good examination ruled it in favour of the fielding side.
However, TV replays gave a different perception as Latham had his gloves very close to the bails, and the bails appeared to light up a fraction after it settled in the wicketkeeper's gloves.
The third umpire also checked if Latham had collected the ball behind the stumps, which he did, and with no conclusive evidence the benefit of doubt went against Pandya.
The TV umpire checked whether Latham's gloves were behind the stumps before he collected the ball - which they were, so it was a legal delivery - and he was satisfied that there was no conclusive evidence that the bail had been dislodged by the wicketkeeper's gloves.
Ravi Shastri, who was doing commentary at the moment, felt the decision was unfair to the batter. "Oh, it's been given out! Daryl Mitchell should be happy," Shastri said on-air. "Should really be happy, because that, if you take a look again as to where the keeper's gloves are, where the ball is as it passes the stumps, it looked as if the ball was at least an inch, inch-and-a-half above the stumps ... Ball clearly looks to be above the bail. You can see as it goes past into the gloves, there's no red light, it's only after that. There you go. From that angle you can see that the gloves are closer to the bails than the ball," he added.
India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin also believed Hardik was “not out”.
“Forget about split screens and replays, the cut shot from Shubhman Gill proved why Hardik was clearly Not Out,” he tweeted.
Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffar also felt the same and tweeted: "Hardik robbed there."
Hardik fell for 28 off 38 deliveries but it didn't hurt India much as Shubman Gill's heroics in Hyderabad on Wednesday drove India to a staggering 349/8 in 50 overs.
In response Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner almost foiled India's party with their stunning knocks, but it was the hosts who eventually ended up on the winning side. Chasing 350, New Zealand got off to a slow start and lost half their side inside 25 overs. However, a solid partnership between Bracewell and Santner kept New Zealand in hunt. The pair added 162-runs for the seventh wicket, with Santner chipping with a 45-ball 57. Despite losing his partner, Bracewell kept things moving and was the final man to depart. He was trapped LBW for 140 off 78 balls by Shardul Thakur in the final over as New Zealand fell short by 12 runs in the 350-run chase.
