Indian opener KL Rahul was left fuming after being given his marching orders following a “disappointing” and “controversial” DRS decision.
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Rahul was initially given not out after he seemingly played and missed a Mitchell Starc delivery in the 23rd over, with Aussie skipper Pat Cummins opting to review the decision.
‘Snicko’ then spiked when the ball passed Rahul’s bat, with review official Richard Illingworth saying: “I’ve got a spike when the ball passed his outside edge”.
Rahul shook his head while walking from the Perth Stadium pitch, protesting with the on-field umpires and Australian cricketing legend posed a big question.
“That’s controversial – there was a spike on the Snicko, but was the spike coming from the ball hitting the bat, or was it the bat hitting his pad?” he said.
“You can see the bat just clipping the pad, so you’ve just got to get the timing right … there’s got to be some doubt there in my mind.”
Aussie great Mark Waugh then added: “That’s a very brave decision given the evidence that we’ve seen there; unfortunately KL Rahul’s got to cop it sweet … (he) won’t be happy with the way it’s ended.”
Rahul has been the anchor at the top of the order for India, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli all getting out before he departed for 26 (74).
For Hussey, Rahul had every right to question the decision, saying: “I don’t think you can be 100 per cent sure that decision is correct”.
“The disappointing thing is the technology’s there to make sure you get the correct,” he said.
Meanwhile, cricketing legends Ravi Shastri and Kerry O’Keeffe both echoed Hussey’s opinion, claiming there was doubt surrounding whether the ball hit the bat or Rahul made contact with his pad.
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“My initial reaction was: ‘Was there enough evidence there for the third umpire to overrule what was given?’” Rahul said.
“Did I see enough there for me to be convinced? I didn’t see enough to be honest.”
O’Keeffe then added: “I think he was unlucky; I think he’s brushed the back pad with his bat. There’s no HotSpot anymore, that would’ve shown it up.
“There was a spike of course, but was it bat against pad, rather than bat against ball?
“Rahul was disappointed with the decision; you tend to know (if you’ve hit it). He threw his hands up in despair, but the umpire’s decision is final.”
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