Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam’s dismissal on Day 1 of the second Test against India at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur sparked a debate in the commentary box among Tamim Iqbal, Ravi Shastri and Dinesh Karthik. Tamim thought the ball was sliding down the leg but the ball-tracking technology showed that it would have crashed onto the leg stump, forcing on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough to change his decision from not out to out. Shastri and Karthik, however, had a different take. They felt
It transpired in the first ball of the 13th over of the Bangladesh innings when India pacer Akash Deep got one to slide in with the angle to left-hander Shadman from around the wicket. The ball pitched on good length and got Shadman hopping on the crease. The angle of the delivery deceived him and the ball thudded onto his pad before he could bring his bat down.
Despite a vociferous appeal from the Indian cricketers, led by bowler Akash Deep, umpire Kettleborough shook his head. But Akash Deep was adamant. He immediately made the ‘T’ sign by looking at captain Rohit Sharma, who didn’t seem that convinced. As a standard practice, Rohit turned to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. After a brief discussion that was dominated by Akash Deep’s insistence, Rohit decided to send it upstairs.
When the replays were flashed on screen, it did appear that the ball would go on to slide down the leg side but ball tracking showed three reds, much to the shock and delight of the Indian payers. A pleasantly surprised Rohit was seen congratulating and hugging Akash for convincing him to go for the DRS.
It was an important wicket for India as Shadman (24 off 36) was set and scoring freely. But he was stopped in his tracks by Akash Deep, who picked up his second wicket of the day.
Tamim, Shastri, DK debate Shadman Islam’s dismissal
Moments after Shadman took the long walk back to the pavilion, former Bangladesh opener Tamim raised his questions about the ball tracking for that particular delivery.
“I thought that was sliding down the leg stump but DRS had other ideas,” Tamim said in commentary.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, disagreed with him and gave reference to Dinesh Karthik’s comments about the camera angles creating an illusion.
“DK spoke about the camera angles. It’s not always absolutely straight, so it can give the impression that it is sliding down. Bounce was never going to be an issue in Kanpur. The Indian team was also surprised. There was only one member who believed it was out and that was Akash Deep,” said Shastri.
Earlier, Rohit won the toss and opted to field, hoping to take full advantage of the overcast and damp conditions, but Bangladesh openers put on a brave face in front of India’s new ball bowlers. It was Akash Deep’s introduction that gave India a couple of breakthroughs. But Bangladesh captain Najmul Hasan Shanto and former skipper Mominul Haque ensured there was no further damage. Bangladesh were 74/2 at Lunch.
