India were wrong in refusing to use the referral system in this vital series
India were wrong in refusing to use the referral system in this vital seriesIndia could pay a heavy price for refusing to allow the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) to be used in this series. Disdaining technological advance, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rejected the idea of checking on important decisions and correcting clear blunders. By doing so it ignored best practise. Worse, it took a risk that blatant injustices might remain intact.
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| Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid celebrate the dismissal of Simon Katich, who was lucky to get away earlier in the innings thanks to some poor umpiring. PIC/GETTY IMAGES |
Understandable?Inevitably, the chickens have come home to roost. On the fourth day of the opening India vs Australia Test here, two hot and tired umpires wilted under the pressure. Hitherto Ian Gould and Billy Bowden had been well nigh flawless. Alas, that happy state did not survive the day. Umpires are constantly in the spotlight when the ball is keeping low and nerves can easily get frayed.
The first error involved the dismissal of Mike Hussey. Harbhajan Singh had been operating from around the wicket and had been wrongly denied the wicket of Simon Katich. Had the UDRS been in place, the stoic opener could not have survived.
Now, the off-spinner tried his luck from over the wicket. He landed a ball well outside leg stump, enquired without much conviction as the batsman swept but celebrated as the finger was raised. It was a stinker. Gould is a good umpire but he is human. Put it down to a lapse in concentration.
Hussey departed with an aggrieved air. His position is in peril so it was a bad time to "cop a roughie" as Australians put it. Doubtless Hussey yearned for the chance to review the verdict. But the Supreme Court was not functioning.
Previously Michael Clarke's first ball dismissal had been referred to the third umpire in case he had overstepped the mark. As it turned out, Ishant Sharma had strayed for the 14th time. He had no one to blame expect himself. In that case justice was done. The same applied to the low catches taken by VVS Laxman and Shane Watson. In both cases, the third umpire did his job quickly and intelligently. None of the decisions created controversy amongst the players because they had been confirmed by an experienced observer.
ShockerAny Indian happy to be rid of Hussey ought also to have feared the future. And so it proved. Gautam Gambhir was the victim of a shocking error. Bowden did not hear the snick or notice that the ball was cutting across the left-hander and away from the stumps. The third umpire could have overturned the decision in an instant, but his services could not be used.
Whether or not Rahul Dravid was out, was hard to tell. In any case, he had no business groping at an offering so wide.
No one emerged happily from these episodes. Two batsmen lost their wickets to obvious errors. Luckily, they were on opposing sides so the match itself was not unfairly tilted. Two respected but exhausted umpires were made to look like fools all because the BCCI was not willing to apply UDRS. Apparently, certain influential players don't like it, but it's not up to them.
Now, India faces an uphill battle. Laxman's injury has been the critical factor. The BCCI's intransigence has not helped.
