Subhayan Chakraborty at the MCG
At the end of the Boxing Day Test, TV umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid Saikat’s decision to overturn the on-field umpire’s call and rule Yashasvi Jaiswal out became a topic of discussion in the cricket world. The dismissal derailed India’s remaining hopes of securing a draw on Day 5 of the nail-biting fourth Test. But the judgement wasn’t the reason India lost. It was due to poor application, bad shot selection and lack of patience.
Soon after Jaiswal’s dismissal, Akash Deep was also given out, after a catch by Travis Head at forward short leg, despite a visible gap between bat and ball from the front-on angle shown on the large screen during the DRS review. There was a spike on the snicko, and side-on, slow-motion replays showed a small red mark on the side of Akash’s bat. However, this wasn’t displayed on the big screen during the review, leading to massive confusion among the crowd, with chants of “cheater, cheater” echoing around the MCG. Nevertheless, Australia clinched the match, defeating India by 184 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test series heading into the finale in Sydney.
Pat Cummins delivered a bouncer to Jaiswal, who was on 84 after facing 208 deliveries. Together with Washington Sundar, they were blocking virtually everything by then. Jaiswal attempted a pull off the Cummins bouncer, and the ball travelled to Alex Carey’s gloves. As the Australian slip cordon celebrated in anticipation, believing Jaiswal had gloved it, the on-field umpire signalled not out. Confident that there was a nick, Cummins opted for the DRS.
The replays initially suggested Jaiswal had indeed gloved the delivery, but the snicko showed no spike. Amid the confusion, with 74,362 spectators at the MCG cheering, Saikat, seeing a clear deflection off Jaiswal’s gloves, asked the on-field umpire to reverse his decision. Jaiswal, visibly shocked, had a brief word with the umpires before trudging back to the pavilion, disappointed after his long vigil at the crease. His dismissal undeniably impacted India’s chances for a draw.
“I really don’t know what to make of that,” Rohit Sharma, India’s captain, remarked to reporters post-match. “The technology (snicko) didn’t show anything, but with the naked eye, it seemed he did touch something. I don’t know how the umpires want to use the technology, but in all fairness, I think he did touch the ball. Again, it’s about technology, which we all know is not 100 per cent accurate. We don’t want to look too much into that. But most of the time, we are falling on the wrong side of it. It’s been happening since India. That’s where I feel we have been a little bit unfortunate.”
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Simon Taufel, former international umpire, speaking on Channel 7, stated, “In my view, the decision was out. The third umpire made the correct decision in the end. With the technology protocols, we do have a hierarchy of redundancy, and when the umpire sees a clear deflection off the bat, there is no need to go any further and use any other form of technology to prove the case. The clear deflection is conclusive evidence.
“In this particular case, what we’ve seen from the third umpire is they’ve used a secondary form of technology, which for whatever reason hasn’t shown the same conclusive evidence of audio to back up the clear deflection. In the end, the third umpire did the right thing by going back to the clear deflection and overturned the on-field decision. So, in my view, the correct decision was made.”
India began Day 5 on a positive note with Jasprit Bumrah securing his fifth wicket to dismiss Nathan Lyon for 41, setting a target of 340 for India. The openers, Rohit and Jaiswal, were disciplined against the new ball, but Rohit was caught at gully off Cummins after facing 40 deliveries for nine runs, continuing his challenging tour with the bat. It was the fourth time in as many innings that the Indian captain was dismissed by his Australian counterpart. KL Rahul, who had shifted to No. 3 in Melbourne to accommodate Rohit at the top, was dismissed for a duck in the same over, giving Cummins a double-wicket maiden.
“I stand where I am standing today,” said a subdued Rohit afterwards. “There’s nothing to think about what has happened in the past. Obviously, a few results have not gone our way. As a captain, yes, that is disappointing. And yes, as a batter as well. You know, a lot of the things that I am trying to do are not falling into place as I would want them to. But mentally, look, you know, it is disturbing without a doubt.
“If you’ve come here and you want to do what you’re supposed to do successfully, and if those things don’t fall in place, that is a big disappointment. But as of now, that’s where it is. And there are things that we as a team need to look at. I personally need to look at it as well.”
With Jaiswal and Virat Kohli at the crease, India hoped to at least secure a draw. However, in the last over before lunch, Starc’s delivery wide outside off stump tempted Kohli into a flashy cover drive, leading to his dismissal. It was the fifth time in the series that he had been out in similar fashion.
Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal then showed resilience, playing out 197 deliveries for an 88-run partnership through the second session. However, just after the tea break, with Cummins using Nathan Lyon and Head to address a slow over-rate, the game shifted. In the fifth over, Head bowled short, and Pant’s attempted pull was caught by Mitch Marsh at long-on, initiating a collapse.
Three overs later, Ravindra Jadeja edged one from Scott Boland for two. An over later, Nitish Reddy, the first-innings centurion, edged to first slip off Lyon for one. Six overs later, the controversial decision to rule Jaiswal out occurred, followed by Akash’s dismissal five overs later.
Australia’s players erupted in joy as Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj returned to the dugout with heads down. India had their moments to win the Boxing Day Test, but Australia’s relentless punching secured the victory. Now, the Aussies have a chance to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade, putting the onus on India to deliver a final blow in Sydney, something they’ve notably failed to do since Perth.
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