Team India’s opener KL Rahul’s dismissal in the opening test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Perth has sparked controversy with fans doubting the third umpire’s decision.
India had a woeful start as they lost the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli for 32 runs. Adding to the woes, KL Rahul‘s controversial dismissal via DRS call has become the focal point.
The incident occurred on the 23rd over of India’s innings when Mitchell Starc bowled a delivery that angled across KL Rahul.
He moved forward to defend when the ball was close to the bat and was caught by Alex Carey. The on-field umpire initially ruled it not out, but Australia went for a review. It showed that there was a faint edge.
The review showed a spike on Snick, indicating contact as the ball passed him. However, the front-on replay is crucial for determining if the sound come from the bat or bat-pad contact is difficult.
Simon Taufel explained the decision saying, “We saw with that side on shot there was a spike on RTS with the bat away from the pad, in othe words the bottom of the bat hadn’t reached the pad.”
KL Rahul visibly frustrated expressed his disbelief as he walked back to the Pavilion. His dismissal proved to be expensive for India as the side lost 4/47 at his dismissal.
At Perth, India won the toss and opted to bat first with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opening the innings. But the power hitter Jaiswal has been sent out on 8-ball duck by Mitchell Starc.
Josh Hazlewood aslo joined Starc and opened his account by dismissing Devdutt Padikkal for a 23-ball duck. In a short interval he again picked the wicket of Virat Kohli for 5 runs which made India struggle to lose three wickets for 32 runs.
After the lunch, India lost 6 wickets for 73 runs, with Rishabh Pant and Nitish Reddy on the crease. Mitchell Starc picked two wickets while Josh Hazlewood picked four wickets.
