The second day’s play in the ongoing Johannesburg Test between India and South Africa was marred by a controversy.
India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s catch to dismiss Rassie van der Dussen sparked a debate in the first session. The Proteas batter was adjudged caught behind by on-field umpire Marais Erasmus but the replays later suggested that the ball had fallen marginally short of Pant's gloves when he lunged forward for the catch.
Since Rassie didn’t opt for a review, the decision wasn’t overturned and it certainly became a topic of discussion.
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Former South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock and veteran India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik also shared their two cents over the incident.
According to Pollock, the bulkiness of the gloves sometimes doesn't allow the wicketkeepers to realise if that the catch is clean and Karthik echoed his words.
“There was one where Rassie van der Dussen reviewed and it seemed to bounce short. There was another catch which was quite contentious and there was bit of discussion in the lunch break, South African camp went to ask if it had carried. It is funny enough that for wicketkeepers in particular with the gloves they've got and often for fielders, when you take the ball coming forward, you think you'd be able to see it and whether it has or hasn't carried but it's not that easy, is it? The odd times where even as a wicketkeeper, with the bulkiness of the gloves, you're sure whether it has carried or not,” Pollock said on Cricbuzz.
Adding to it, Karthik also pointed out that it becomes difficult to know whether the catch is clean or not since the head is far away from the hands while diving forward.
“Absolutely. The way you do, the way you get the head away, it's hard to see the ball and because you have the glove which obviously has a lot of leather that protects you from the hits, what it does is that the impact on the ground is not seen,” Karthik said.
“You're not sure whether it comes straight at your gloves or just bounced. This happens a lot to slip fielders, and to fielders at any point. You just take it on the bounce and you are not sure and that's where you have your cameras and angles and in spite of all the HD technology, it gets really hard. So you have to go with the thumb rule for what the fielder says and on top of that, you have two umpires standing in the ground and getting a good view of what's happening and trust them. Because 15 years ago, we had the same problem, we had slightly lesser cameras, today the cameras have gotten better, there are far more cameras inspite of that we are not able to nail the decision.”
Karthik, however, feels South Africa skipper Dean Elgar was right to have a conversation with the umpires over the decision.
“If there's inconclusive evidence, you have to understand that you have to go with the umpires and the keeper as well. So I think the decision was well taken. I completely understand where Dean Elgar was coming from, obviously, it had a nick that probably bounced in front of the keeper. When it comes to Rassie van der Dussen, it wasn't obvious. As a keeper, you try your best to be honest about it but most of the times, you do miss it because of the protection on the gloves and you don't see it because your head goes back,” said Karthik.
(With Cricbuzz inputs)
