The Indian pacer, Mohammed Siraj gave India a solid start in the ongoing first Test against Australia in Nagpur as he dismissed opener, Usman Khawaja for just 1. The Australia opener witnessed a purple patch with his bat in the Australian summer. However, his form counted for little as Siraj dismissed him on his very first ball to send the southpaw back to the pavilion. The wicket, however, did not come without a good dose of drama for the Australian media.
On the first ball of the second over, Mohammed Siraj bowled an inswinger that hit Usman Khawaja on his pads. And while the pacer made a huge appeal for an lbw decision, it looked like the ball had pitched just outside the leg. That was one of the reasons why umpire Nitin Menon adjudged the batsman not out.
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Siraj’s teammates were not very convinced either as they gathered for a quick chat. The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma was then seen running to KS Bharat for confirmation before eventually deciding to take the DRS call with just one second left on the timer. In live action, the ball appeared to be traveling down the leg side, but the Indian players’ reaction made it very clear when they saw the ball land during the replay.
UltraEdge showed there was no bat involved with the Ball Tracking showing three reds. The on-field umpire had to reverse his decision.
Here is the video of the dismissal:
— MINI BUS 2022 (@minibus2022) February 9, 2023
𝑰. 𝑪. 𝒀. 𝑴. 𝑰!
1⃣ wicket for @mdsirajofficial 👌
1⃣ wicket for @MdShami11 👍Relive #TeamIndia's early strikes with the ball 🎥 🔽 #INDvAUS | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/K5kkNkqa7U
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 9, 2023
Talking about debutant KS Bharat on-air, who suggested Rohit go for the DRS call, Dinesh Karthik, who was mighty impressed with Bharat, provided a delightful insight into how the wicketkeeper assisted Rohit with the decision-making.
Dinesh Karthik said, “They say a Test cap will always be well-earned. And he has really earned his stripes. Played for Andhra for a long time and here it comes – in the first five minutes of his keeping, in his debut – a big call to be taken, everybody excited. Goes straight to Rohit Sharma to have a conversation with him. And that’s the interesting part – as a keeper, you need to have clarity, you need to be sure, you need to tell the captain what exactly you have seen.”
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Team India’s former batting coach Sanjay Bangar was asked about the disappointment shown by Australian media during an interaction on Star Sports. He said, “Well I am not on Twitter. But in India-Australia series you have to be in touch with what is happening around the globe. Some media from Australia saying that the ball tracker (is) broken and they are not happy with the DRS. And now that’s crying, all these. They can’t digest the fact that the Indian team has dominated on Day 1.”
Many Australians did not agree with technology, finding faults with the ‘supposed’ trajectory of the ball, and took to social media to question the call.
"Ball tracker broken? 🤔"
Aussies left stunned just minutes into first Test by "interesting" DRS moment >> https://t.co/7H7qXMDhBX pic.twitter.com/x3tR443KZf
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) February 9, 2023
Australia’s 12th man across seven seas 😮 https://t.co/vbJllbkyBE
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 9, 2023
😁 #INDvAUS #BGT2023 https://t.co/DlBCW3YwzL pic.twitter.com/pqhvtlPuyV
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) February 9, 2023
Ball tracker broken? 🤔 https://t.co/E6Aujtva2N
— Travis Boak (@travisboak10) February 9, 2023
Interesting ball-tracking there to have the ball straightening after impact on pad. #INDvAUS
— Andrew Wu (@wutube) February 9, 2023
