On Tuesday, Delhi Capitals (DC) registered their third victory in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) after they defeated defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) by six wickets in a low-scoring thriller.
DC spinner Amit Mishra picked up a four-wicket haul for 24 runs in his quota of 4 overs to inspire his side to restrict the mighty MI for a paltry total of 137/9.
In reply, DC took the game to the last over and eventually recorded a win. Shikhar Dhawan top-scored for his side with 45 from 42 deliveries.
However, things could’ve been different had if Shikhar was given out in the first over of the DC chase. The over bowled by Trent Boult almost produced a wicket as Shikhar got the edge while trying to play a shot on the leg-side.
The ball looped off the leading edge and went towards cover, where Hardik Pandya came quickly and dived forward to complete the catch.
But, the on-field umpires Chris Gaffney and Chettithody Shamshuddin weren’t convinced that the catch had been taken clearly as they went upstairs to check the authenticity of the dismissal.
The replays clearly showed there was an element of doubt as Pandya did not have his fingers under the ball completely. Eventually, in the absence of soft-signal, the third umpire ruled the decision favouring the batsman.
Former cricketers Brett Lee and Aakash Chopra reacted to the third umpire’s decision. Lee said: “It’s a tough one. If you look at that from different angles, you’ll give different answers. I think it comes down to asking the players as well. You can use technology. You can see Pandya’s fingers underneath the ball, but you can also see the ball perhaps touching the ground’s surface. If it touches the ground, it’s not out. It’s a tough one to call.”
Chopra highlighted the absence of a ‘soft signal’ and said if there was such decision, then Dhawan would have been the goner.
Notably, the rule of the on-field umpires giving soft signals at the time of referral was removed for the fourteenth season of the cash-rich league.
“Soft signals have been taken away from IPL this year. There was no soft signal here. Otherwise, he could have been out for all we know,” Chopra said.
