Shubman Gill's India took giant strides towards winning the Galle Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. The visitors made constant inroads into the hosts' batting lineup, and India just need six more wickets on the fifth and final day to go 1-0 up in the two-match series. However, the fourth day witnessed a big flashpoint as a controversial call by the third umpire raised a lot of eyebrows, and Dhruv Jurel was right in the centre of the call as it was his catch that polarised opinion both on social media and in the commentary box.
The incident happened on the fourth delivery of the 22nd over, bowled by Manav Suthar. The ball was caught by Jurel, but the batter wasn't confident that it was pouched safely by the fielder. The decision was then referred to the third umpire, Raveendra Wimalasiri. The replays suggested that the ball went straight into Jurel's hands, but it wasn't clear whether his fingers were under it.
Jurel had taken the catch with his right hand, but due to the momentum he took, the ball possibly touched the ground. However, the third umpire was happy with what he saw and the out verdict flashed on the screen.
Lahiru Udara, the Sri Lankan opener, was in disbelief and didn't want to go back. It was clear that he wasn't convinced that the catch was clean. But the decision was made, and he had to head back to the pavilion after scoring 16 runs off 58 balls.
{{/usCountry}}Lahiru Udara, the Sri Lankan opener, was in disbelief and didn't want to go back. It was clear that he wasn't convinced that the catch was clean. But the decision was made, and he had to head back to the pavilion after scoring 16 runs off 58 balls.
{{/usCountry}}Former Sri Lanka batter Russel Arnold, who was on commentary at that time, made his opinion known to the world, saying that the ball touched the ground in his opinion, and hence Udara should have been out there batting.
“It's been pushed along the ground for a bit. The ball was pushed along the ground. You can see, it was pushed along. When you look at that slow-motion replay, it seems that the fingers were pushed back and the front of the ball was touching the ground,” Arnold said on air.
“For me, the ball is on the ground there. The fingers are behind the ball,” he added.
State of play
India set Sri Lanka a target of 372 after being bowled out for 193 in the second innings. Rishabh Pant was the top-scorer with a knock of 66, and he also became the first Asian batter to surpass the 100-sixes mark in Tests.
Defending the total, India scalped four wickets on Day 4, with Manav Suthar striking twice, while Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna took one each. Sri Lanka ended Day 4 at 84/4, still needing 288 runs for the victory. There's rain predicted on the final day, and it would be interesting to see how India approaches their bid to go 1-0 up in the series.