Zak Crawley, England’s opener who top-scored with 53 off 84 balls which included 10 fours said it was very frustrating to see 50-50 decisions going against their way on Day 1 of the pink-ball Test against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium at Ahmedabad.
England was frustrated with several 50-50 decisions that went against them after referrals to the 3rd umpire on Day 1 of the Pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad, according to opener Zak Crawley.
Zak Crawley Admitted That It Was Very Frustrating As Those 50-50 Decisions Didn’t Go England’s Way
Zak Crawley was referring to a couple of 3rd umpire calls that went in favour of India as the hosts ended the opening day of the 3rd Test at a dominant position.
Zak Crawley’s reaction came after Joe Root was caught on stump mic calling for the inconsistency of 3rd-umpire decisions. England was left frustrated after Rohit Sharma was adjudged not out after a stumping appeal towards the close of play on Wednesday. 3rd umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin did not check all the replay angles even as it was a close call on Rohit Sharma grounding his foot before Ben Foakes disturbed the woodwork.
England captain Joe Root was surprised by the decision as he went and had a chat with the on-field umpire. It was not the first time he and his teammates were unhappy with the 3rd umpire decision as they had a lengthy chat with the on-field umpires when a Ben Stokes catch was overruled. Replays clearly suggested that the ball was grassed when Stuart Broad forced an edge from Shubman Gill’s bat as early as the 2nd over of India’s innings.
“Yeah, it’s very frustrating. We are behind the game. We need those little 50-50 decisions to go our way and it seems like none of them went our way. That’s the way it goes sometimes. It is frustrating and doesn’t help our chances of winning if those chances don’t go our way. But that’s out of our control. We will try to better hopefully we play well tomorrow,” Crawley said.
Third umpire Chettithody Shamsuddin decided Ben Stokes had grounded a catch at slip after Shubman Gill edged Stuart Broad, while he also determined that Rohit Sharma had grounded his foot as Ben Foakes aimed to complete a stumping off Jack Leach.
England was bundled out after scoring only 112 in their first innings after they opted to bat after winning the toss. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel picked up a 6-wicket haul while Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 3 wickets as the Indian spin duo ran through the England batting unit after Zak Crawley hit a fifty.
Zak Crawley: England Still Have Got Chance Of Winning This Test
India ended Day 1 at 99 for 3, training England’s total by only 13 runs as opener Rohit Sharma is batting on 57 not out. India is well-placed to take a considerable lead but Zak Crawley said England believes they are still in the contest with a chance.
“I don’t think it’s going to require a miracle, to be honest. Batting last on this wicket will be difficult, so we bowl well tomorrow and maybe get a 100, 150-run lead, we have got a great chance of winning this Test. I don’t think it’s going to need miracles but we have a lot of things to go our way. We have got confidence in the side we have got.” Crawley added.
Apart from Zak Crawley’s 53, the other batsmen didn’t contribute with scoring more than 20 runs as Axar Patel playing only his 2nd Test, picked up 6 wickets after picking 7 scalps in two innings at Chennai in his debut Test. For India, Rohit Sharma is unbeaten on 57 while Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli were dismissed.