"Incredibly frustrating" - UP Warriorz coach on Hawk-Eye blunder in Chamari Athapaththu's dismissal

UP Warriorz (UPW) coach Jon Lewis said it was "incredibly frustrating" to see the controversial ball-tracking call that resulted in Chamari Athapaththu's (8 off 8) wicket against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday.

Chasing 199, Chamari was rapped on the pads after missing a sweep against leg-spinner Georgia Wareham. The on-field umpire gave not-out and RCB reviewed the call.

The ball seemed to have pitched, turned, and hit her below the knee. To the naked eye, it looked to be going down. However, Hawk-Eye judged the impact much lower, just above the ankle, and projected it to hit the middle stump. Athapaththu, her partner Alyssa Healy, and even the bowling side were surprised by the call.

"You watch the ball with the naked eye, and you think it might pitch in line, just maybe," Lewis said. "Then you look at the ball rotating, and well, it's rotating like a legspinner. There are not many legspinners that go towards that [other] side. It was a fascinating dismissal and a massive turning point for us in that game."

The wicket came at a time when Healy and Athapaththu, who was included in the playing 11 for the first time this season, were trying to build a partnership. It reduced the team to 63/2 and the Warriorz lost six more for 175, losing the game by 23 runs.

"Chamari is an amazing player and you saw how difficult it was when a left-hander and a right-hander were batting together, of the quality of Smriti [Mandhana] and Ellyse Perry. And they are able to access the short side of the ground. That was one of the reasons why we picked Chamari, to be able to access the short side of the ground for both the right and the left-hander. So to lose her in that way was incredibly frustrating," Lewis added.

That wasn't the only reason for the Warriorz's loss though. There was more than enough time for the middle order to recover but the pattern of struggle continued in that segment. RCB's total of 199 was also an above-par score, helped by a host of fielding lapses.

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"An interesting passage of play" - Warriorz coach

Speaking further, Lewis stayed away from taking a dig on Hawk-Eye, which many have done of late across formats, but reiterated his team's feelings.

"I don't know the ins and outs of Hawk-Eye and the technology and how it works. But it was certainly an interesting passage of play, and something that we are pretty frustrated about."

The Warriorz will next face the Mumbai Indians on Thursday, March 7.