The former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the ball tracking system after KL Rahul was adjudged out via LBW on day 05 of the third test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
The opening batter was cut in half by a stunning delivery from Ben Stokes in the first session of Day 05 and took a review in sheer despair.
KL Rahul was considered crucial in the run chase after the team slumped to 58/4 on Day 04. The right handed batter was under pressure as Archer castled Rishabh Pant in the early stages of the session.
In the penultimate ball of the 24th over, Rahul was pinned back by an incoming delivery that struck him on the pads.
The umpires remained unmoved despite a massive appeal by England, because there were multiple sounds. However, Stokes was confident and went for the review.
The second set of noise came from the bat hitting the pad. Ball-tracking projected that the ball would go onto certainly hit the stumps, resulting in no umpire’s call and three straight reds.
Gavaskar questioned of the ball-tracking system, highlighting that several similar calls went against Shubman Gill when they were bowling.
“Surprisingly, this one didn’t bounce that much. When Indian bowlers were bowling, balls were going above the stump mostly in reviews. I am questioning the technology,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
KL Rahul had to depart after scoring 39 runs off 58 deliveries with six fours to his name. Team India were reduced to 81-6 crumbling further in their run chase on day 05.
Team India were left frustrated after Paul Reiffel’s on-field call of not out came to Joe Root’s rescue after the England batter was trapped in front off Mohammed Siraj on Day 04.
The right arm parcer glared at the umpire as ball tracking could not determine for sure whether the ball could go on to hit the stumps, bringing the technology’s margin of error into play.
“You’re saying it was going to kiss the leg stump? There’s no way. It was knocking the leg stump off. The only good thing is that India have not lost the review,” said Sunil Gavaskar.
The Men in Blues’ run chase has been a troublesome as Washington Sundar followed suit after KL Rahul’s dismissal, India lost seven wickets before scoring 10. Jadeja is leading the side on their run chase aiming for a win at Lord’s, London.
