Third umpire criticised for DRS blunder that helped Rahane survive

Cricket Desk: India is up against England on day 1 of the 2nd Test at Chennai, and most of the things went in favour of hosts. Winning the toss, the Indian side came up with the bats first to mark their dominance, and it did happen owing to the masterclass flaunted by Rohit Sharma. India went through a big shock when Shubman Gill and skipper Virat Kohli had to return to the pavilion after enduring a duck.

However, the batting rhythm was steadied by Sharma, who played stunning innings of 161 runs. He was accompanied well enough by India’s deputy Ajinkya Rahane. Both of them stitched a robust partnership to push the team flying high. However, a while after Sharma got dismissed and Rishabh Pant chipped in, a weird incident happened that raised all the fingers on 3rd umpire.

In the 74.2nd over, Jack Leach was up in his action, and the ball looped to Ollie Pope at short leg, and visitors thought they had Rahane. However, it was signalled not out by the on-field umpire. England reviewed the call, and 3rd umpire decided to back the on-field signal without checking any deeper. However, skipper Joe Root didn’t seem convinced and went up for a chat with the umpire.

Rohit Sharma – Ajinkya Rahane’s partnership remained crucial for India

Root claimed that the TV umpire didn’t look for the ball, which might have grazed Rahana’s gloves on the way up. He didn’t seem fine even then, and everything was crystal clear when the replay came up. The UltraEdge suggested that the ball did brush up his gloves. Well, it was indeed a huge blunder on 3rd umpire’s part, but Rahane ultimately got dismissed in the next over in hands of Moeen Ali.

Rahane had to leave the field after scoring 67 runs. Talking about the game on Day 1, it was completely dominated by Rohit Sharma. His much-awaited innings put India in a dominating position. India scored 290 runs (at the time of writing) towards the end of the final session, and Pant and debutant Axar Patel are up on the crease.