Controversy has erupted in the first session of the opening Test between Australia and India in Perth after Indian opener KL Rahul was given out by the TV umpire on the stroke of lunch.
Rahul fought hard for his 26, and was on the cusp of navigating a tough opening session, before he was beaten outside off-stump by Mitchell Starc, sparking a loud appeal from the Australians.
The on field umpire, England’s Richard Kettleborough, initially gave a not out decision, before it was overturned by the TV umpire Richard Illingworth.
While replays showed there was a sound as the ball passed the Rahul’s bat before going through to Alex Carey, a separate angle from front on showed Rahul’s bat making contact with his front pad as the ball passed through.
Illingworth requested more camera angles, but after not receiving any, instructed Kettleborough to overturn his on-field call of not out, leaving Rahul baffled as he walked off Perth Stadium.
Simon Taufel, who umpired in 74 Test matches between 2000 and 2012, believed Illingworth made the correct call despite not having the necessary angles required to make a conclusive decision on whether Rahul hit the ball.
“The umpire is looking for conclusive evidence and there were a few gremlins … where he didn’t get a few camera angles that he wanted,” he said on Channel 7’s coverage.
“In my view the ball does graze the outside edge.
“With that side on shot there was a spike with the bat away from the pad.”
Taufel’s view was supported by former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody, who said “I don’t think [the third umpire] had any choice other than to give it out” while on commentary for ABC Sport.
However, there were also plenty who ruled the Indian opener to be terribly unlucky, including former Indian coach Ravi Shastri.
“My initial reaction was, was there enough evidence there for the third umpire to overrule what was given?” he said on Fox Cricket’s coverage.
“It was not out on the field of play.
“Did I see enough there for me to be convinced?
“I didn’t see enough, to be honest.”
“I think he was unlucky. I think he brushed the pad with his bat. There’s no hot spot anymore, that would have shown it up,” added former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe.
Rahul’s controversial dismissal raised questions of why the hot spot technology was not available, with former Australian coach Darren Lehmann critical of the lack of technology available to the umpires.
“CA (Cricket Australia) should’ve actually paid for the hot spot then you’d have no problems there,” he said on commentary for ABC Sport.
“I just think we should have hot spot and I’m not worried about the cost. Broadcasters, both TV and radio, they’re paying the money for the broadcasting rights, so they’ve got the money there to do it. If we’re going to have big crowds, big nations playing, pay for it, work it out and get the right result.
“Think about this in a crunch fifth Test decider in Sydney, both teams playing for a World Test Championship spot for example and that happens and you haven’t got hot spot.
“If it’s a cost issue, come out and say it’s a cost issue, which I imagine it must be. I can understand the cash (answer) if the money they’re saving is going into grassroots cricket or developing the women’s game, I’m OK with that sort of stuff, but if they’re just saving money for the sake of saving money.”
Rahul was one of four Indian wickets to fall in the opening session, joining Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli in the sheds for the tourists.
Australia’s opening bowlers were the chief destroyers, with both Starc and Josh Hazlewood going into lunch with identical figures of 2-10 off eight overs.
