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Joe Root survives due to ‘DRS malfunction’ as controversy erupts in IND vs ENG 1st Test; Ravi Shastri livid
Joe Root survived a ‘controversial’ DRS call as former India head coach hinted at a possible technical glitch during India vs England first Test.
As expected, the India vs England first Test in Hyderabad started on an exciting note. England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett didn't miss a single opportunity to score runs. They got beaten by India pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj on several occasions but they kept playing shots to take England past 50. It was only when India captain Rohit Sharma turned to spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, did the match change colours.
It took Ashwin just 11 balls to make an impact on the match. In the 12th over, he got one to slide with the arms and trap Duckett right in front of the stumps. The left-hander went for the review and replays showed the ball would have gone on to clip the top of the leg stump; not enough to overturn the on-field umpire's decision. Duckett had to walk back for 35 off 39 balls.
A couple of overs later, it was Jadeja who sprang into action. The left-arm spinner got one turn to find the outside edge of Oille Pope's bat and Rohit at first slip took a sharp low catch. You could sense the spinners were already in the game. From being 55 for no loss, England were now 58/2.
India vs England Live Score, 1st Test
And they very well could have been or rather should have been 58/3.
A ball after Pope's wicket, Joe Root attempted a paddle sweep off Jadeja. The ball slid through to hit his pads. Jadeja was certain that it was adjacent. He convinced captain Rohit and keeper KS Bharat - both of them were undecided - to go for the DRS. That is where all the fun started.
Firstly, it took an eternity for the ball-tracking to come up as players from both sides anxiously looked at the big screen. When ball tracking finally came, the ultra edge showed a spike. But the problem was, the spike was there even before the ball reached anywhere near Root's bat. The murmours continued as the ball went close to Root's bat and the spike was at its peak when it thudded into his pad. To the naked eye, it felt like there was a gap between Root's bat and the ball. But there was also a deflection when it passed the bat.
Third umpire Marais Erasmus, the man who mattered, thought the spike came from the bat. He asked the on-field umpire to change his decision to not out.
Ravi Shastri says Joe Root was out, Pietersen says “inconclusive”
It was Joe Root. Needless to say, it was a huge moment in the game. Former India coach Ravi Shastri, who was in the commentary box at that time, felt Root was lucky. "I think he got away with one. The spike came even before the ball reached his bat," he said.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen said the evidence was "inconclusive". “Ravi Shastri fairly animated in the commentary feeling Root was out but I think it was inconclusive,” Pietersen said.
Indian fans on social media obviously thought the hosts were denied a wicket.
India got another wicket in the first ball of the next over as Zak Crawley drilled an Ashwin delivery straight to mid-off where, like Rohit in the slips, Mohammed Siraj took a sharp low catch.
After three quick wickets from the spinners but Root and new man Jonny Bairstow stitched an important little partnership to take England to safety. Root was unbeaten on 18 and Bairstow raced to 32 off 44 balls as England were 108 for at Lunch on Day 1.
