Sri Lankan opener Kaushal Silva had luck on his side on the course of his 80 in the first innings of the second test against Pakistan at the P Sara Oval. Silva was let-off in the innings courtesy a blunder by former Australian pacer and third umpire Paul Reiffel. Silva was adjudged not out for a bat-pad catch to slip by on-field umpire S Ravi off the bowling of Zulfiqar Babar and the Pakistani skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was not convinced by the decision and decided to challenge it with a review.
It was confirmed that Silva had not edged the ball but the replays suggested he was a chance for LBW. Unfortunately for Pakistan, Paul Reiffel did not check for LBW at the time and instructed Ravi to stand by his decision. The Hawkeye showed the ball crashing into middle and leg.
According to the laws of the game, the LBW should have been taken into account and the on-field umpire should have reversed his decision.
Section 3.3(f) of the ICC’s Test match playing conditions state: The third umpire shall not withhold any factual information which may help in the decision making process, even if the information is not directly prompted by the on-field umpire’s questions. In particular, in reviewing a dismissal, if the third umpire believes that the batsman may instead be out by any other mode of dismissal, he shall advise the on-field umpire accordingly. The process of consultation described in this paragraph in respect of such other mode of dismissal shall then be conducted as if the batsman has been given not out.
The Pakistan coach Waqar Younis went to Chris Broad, the match referee, to seek an explanation for the decision. It was also rumoured that both Broad and Reiffel apologised for the oversight, and it was reluctantly accepted by the team because nothing could be done after play carried on.