Former India player Parthiv Patel said that Rishabh Pant was correctly given out in India’s second innings of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. He also added that he could see a deflection when the ball passed the bat as well. However, Pant was given out caught behind by the third umpire for a 57-ball 64 on Sunday, November 3. His dismissal reduced India to 106/7 while chasing a 147-run target, and they eventually lost the match by 25 runs as well.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Patel said, “Absolutely, it didn’t seem like the third umpire had any doubts in his mind. We have spoken a lot about the Hawk-Eye, I could see the deflection. At times, when the bat hits the pad, if the bat hasn’t hit the ball, you also see a slight gap. You see daylight but that daylight also wasn’t seen there,” he said. “Although Paul Reiffel, who is the third umpire, hasn’t had a good series, he didn’t make any mistake in this decision. I feel there was a deflection from the bat.”

During the same discussion, Saba Karim also replied in the affirmative when he was asked whether Rishabh Pant’s dismissal was the turning point.

“It was a massive moment in New Zealand’s win. They had to decide whether to take the DRS or not, but they backed themselves because, in the end, it was Rishabh Pant’s wicket. You had to take a chance there. Ajaz Patel and Tom Blundell, the wicketkeeper who had taken the catch, were extremely confident,” he said.

“We are feeling it is debatable because the bat hit the pad at the same time, and the ball hit the inside edge as well, that’s what we are seeing from the spikes. The pictures Hawk-Eye brings to the fore for the third umpire, it is decided based on that. The type of spike decides whether it is because of wood or the contact is bat with pad. However, if you have two spikes, the bigger spike is a clear indicator that it is off the bat,” he concluded.