Team India skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledged that he failed to understand how the decision involving Rishabh Pant got overturned on Day 3 of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. The right-handed batter revealed that he didn't see any conclusive evidence for the decision to be reversed and felt it should have stayed with the on-field one.
The dismissal occurred as Pant danced down the track to kick away the ball from Ajaz Patel off his pad as Tom Blundell took the catch. With New Zealand captain Tom Latham sensing an edge to Blundell, he took the DRS.
On replays, there was a spike when the ball passed the bat but the willow was also close to the pad. With third umpire Paul Reiffel ruling it out, several social media users believed there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the decision.
Speaking at a post-match presser, here's what Rohit claimed, as quoted by Cricbuzz:
"About that dismissal, I honestly, I don't know. If we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is no conclusive evidence, it has to go, it has to stand with the umpire's on-field decision. That is what I have been told. So, I don't know how that decision was overturned since the umpire didn't give him out."
Pant's dismissal tipped the scales in the favor of the Black Caps significantly. Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar resisted for a few overs before Glenn Phillips removed the former, followed by Akash Deep immediately on the next ball. Sundar was the last man to be dismissed.
"It felt like he will take us through" - Rohit Sharma on Rishabh Pant
The 37-year-old has called for the umpires to apply rules the same way to everyone instead of changing their stance on every instance.
"You know, the bat was clearly close to the pad. So, again, I don't know if it is the right thing for me to talk about. It is something for the umpires to think about. Have the same rules for every team, not keep changing their mind.
"But again, that dismissal actually was very, very crucial from our point of view. Rishabh was really looking good at that point and it felt like he will take us through. But it was an unfortunate dismissal, got out and then we were bowled out right after that."
Rohit and Co. will next head to Australia to play in a five-Test series.
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