END v IND 2018: Former players agree with third umpire’s decision of Joe Root’s dismissal

Root was given out after third umpire Aleem Dar didn't find any conclusive evidence to overrule the on-field decision.

Joe Root looked visibly upset after the third umpire didn't find strong evidence to overrule the on-field decision

Joe Root’s dismissal on the second day of the Trent Bridge Test created a bit of controversy after some questions were raised over the clarity of the catch taken by KL Rahul in the second slip. While the England captain looked visibly upset after the third umpire decision, a number of former Test players have given a clean chit to the eventual verdict.

It was the first ball of Hardik Pandya’s awe-inspiring spell and Root fended the back of a length delivery to Rahul, who took a good low catch at second slip.

In order to confirm whether the catch was clean or not, Umpire Marais Erasmus consulted with his on-field counterpart Chris Gaffaney and decided to go upstairs after giving a 'soft signal' of out. Third umpire Aleem Dar needed a strong evidence to overrule the on-field decision but the video replays didn’t provide any.

After the end of second day’s play, Former England batsman Mark Butcher shared his views on Rahul’s catch.

“Thoughts on the Root dismissal. Ball travels horizontally, not vertically towards an object that is curved, not flat. Therefore the ball can, and did in this case, bounce off the fingers into the palms. Out! #EngvInd” Butcher tweeted.

Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan also agreed with third umpire’s verdict, suggesting that the ball bounced up off Rahul’s finger rather than the ground.

"A lot of controversy over the catch - I thought he was caught. I think it bounces off the finger," Vaughan told the BBC.

While commentating for Sky Sports, Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara said: "It does look out ... it looked as if the fingers were underneath the ball. You do need conclusive evidence to overturn any signal from the on-field umpires."

Coming to the match, India rode on Pandya’s maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket to dominate the second day at Trent Bridge. Pandya’s figures of 5 for 28 tore apart the English batting line-up as the hosts slumped from 108/4 to 128/9. At Tea, England got bowled out for 161 in 38.2 overs.

Finishing at 124 for 2 on the board at stumps on Day 2, India strengthened their grip on the match by extending their lead to 292 runs.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 20 Aug, 2018

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