On Sunday, India succumbed to New Zealand’s challenge in the third and final Test of the series, thereby incurring a shameful series deficit of 0-3. Quite different might have been the outcome for India, almost, as Rishabh Pant would have had to be on the ground for a few overs more. On Day 3 of the third Test against the visiting side, Rishabh was perhaps the only batter who managed to survive the onslaught of the New Zealand spinners in the Mumbai Stadium, which again raised eyebrows as to how he was adjudged out.
As the Kiwis went for an appeal for a caught behind, the on-field umpires opted to remain unmoved; however, the decision went in the negative for Rohit’s crew as the television umpire had to intervene on the appeal from the field making the Kiwis roar in celebration which irked the Indian captain.
During the post-match press conference when Rohit was asked about the great Rishabh Pant’s dismissal, he said that it was better for the umpires not to change the on-field decision in the absence of any clear evidence.
“Since there was no clear proof, it should have remained the on-field umpire’s call. I am not certain it was the right decision,” Rohit stated.
There was an appeal for a catch which the on-field umpire denied. such a dire situation Tom Latham pleaded for a final verdict concerning the legitimacy of the catch.
There was an ultra edge spike at the instance the bat came into contact with the pad but also a spike was evident when the ball drew near the bat yet the replay showed no gap. However, at the same time, Pant’s bat was also striking his pad. The third umpire however chose to go against the two sounds claiming that only the bowlers sounded as the ultra edge had been able to isolate any one of the two sounds.
The third umpire reversed the previous verdict dismaying Pant who was cut to a sad figure.
The anguish in Pant’s body language was clear after he banged the door on the way to the dressing room.
The remaining story in the series was one of the collective batting failures from the Indian side which had been the case for the entire series.
