While it is normal for the 11 players from either sides to remain under the spotlight for most of the duration in a game, sometimes the umpires officiating in the match also become a subject of discussion.
One such umpire who has been under some pressure over his decision making in recent times is Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena, who has made more than one dodgy decision in recent times.
On Saturday, he added another one to his list, when a delivery from Ravichandran Ashwin rapped Stuart Broad high on his pads. The bowl seemed to be going down the leg-side, but the former Sri Lankan cricketer turned umpire didn’t think so and raised his finger.
Replays later suggested that the delivery was ‘marginal’(read: Umpire’s call) on Impact and was Missing the leg-stump. Had Broad gone for the review, the decision would have been overturned.
Sadly for him and England, they didn’t have any referral left and it meant that the fast bowler had to take the long walk back to the pavilion. This is the second time in two days that the umpire has got a decision wrong and one among several calls that he has got wrong.
It gave Ashwin his fourth wicket and soon enough, he claimed his fifth scalp, polishing the England innings off for 255 to give India a big lead of 200 runs. Ashwin finished with figures of 5 fo 67 in 29.5 overs and gave India a firm control in the Test match.
You can watch the dismissal here
More to follow..
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