Yet again, the poor standards of the umpiring in the ICC World Cup 2019 makes the headlines. After quite a few controversial decisions in the tournament so far, they once again shocked fans with their poor calling on Rohit Sharma dismissal. Surprisingly, this time, it is the third umpire, who made a mess of the things.
During the game against Windies, Rohit Sharma was looking in fine touch after having smashed a six and a boundary in the first 6 overs after India opted to bat. However, he was in trouble when Kemar Roach got one to swing into the right-handed batsman.
Rohit Sharma looked solid in his brief stay:
West Indies went up in appeal for caught behind as it seemed Rohit had got an inside edge onto the wicketkeeper. However, on-field umpire Richard Illingworth wasn’t interested and ruled it not-out only to see West Indies captain Jason Holder send it upstairs for a DRS call.
Though the fielders of Windies were confident enough, Rohit Sharma looked positive, as he felt that ball brushed off the pad.
During the replays, the UltraEdge threw up a spike but it wasn’t providing conclusive evidence as to whether the ball touched the bat or the batsman’s pad. However, much to the disbelief, the third umpire Michael Gough deemed it out and the on-field umpire’s decision was reversed.
The 3rd umpire has taken the decision very quickly .If you see in this pic on the right side the shadow of the bat on the ball which can clearly say that the ball is not in contact with the bat but we'll the spikes came in the ultra yes the ball was in contact with the pad. pic.twitter.com/vrIGLznkrw
— Pradeep Reddy (@Pradeep62034268) June 27, 2019
The third umpire’s decision raised quite a few eyebrows. The visuals shocked fans, the dressing room and Rohit’s wife Ritika Sajdeh visibly bewildered at the decision. There was no option left for the Indian Vice-captain Rohit Sharma, who walked back with a smile.
It was a surprising call from the third umpire. Usually, the non-conclusive decision should generally end up with the on-field umpire decision calls. However, the umpire Gough ruled it in favour of Windies players.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, on his social media panels, posted the image. It displayed the ball clearly missing the bat and brushing the pads.
Have a look:
?♂️? pic.twitter.com/0RH6VeU6YB
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) June 28, 2019