A controversial catch by Australian batting all-rounder Cameron Green sent Indian opening batsman Shubman Gill back to the pavilion in India's second innings of the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The third umpire, Richard Kettleborough, ruled Green’s catch in his favour and gave Gill out despite the ball looking in doubt to touch the ground.
After the third umpire gave the Indian opening batsman out, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma were shocked. Chants of “cheat cheat cheat” were also heard when Green came for bowling.
The Indian opening batsman reacted to the incident in a social media post. Gill posted emojis—two magnifying glass emojis and a face palm emoji along with a photo of the catch.
Reacting to the incident, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag said that the third umpire’s decision on Shubman Gill was based on inconclusive evidence. Sehwag tweeted: “Third umpire while making that decision of Shubman Gill. Inconclusive evidence. When in doubt, it’s not out”.
Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer shared a meme on the Cameron Green vs Shubman Gill saga and wrote: “Third umpire watching the replay before pressing out."
Even cricket commentator and former Team India coach Ravi Shastri took a jibe at the third umpire following this decision. Shastri said from the commentators’ box: “If this was Steve Smith in place of Shubman Gill, umpire would have given this as not out” and started laughing.
Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda, "According to me, it's not out. Why didn't you zoom in at the moment where you should have zoomed? It's beyond my understanding. You have the technology, camera and every single small thing that makes the decision-making easy for you. But here the decision is only wrong".
"His (Cameron Green's) two fingers weren't placed on the ball that means the ball had touched down. When you weren't sure whether the fingers touched the ball then it should have been given not out," Harbhajan added.
This entire incident came as a setback as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill got off to a positive start by scoring 41 runs in 7.2 overs. Australia set a target of 444 for India to win in Saturday’s match, after declaring innings at 270/8. In the first delivery of the eighth over by Scott Boland, extra bounce on The Oval Pitch outdid Gill as the ball hit the shoulder of his bat when he lunged forward.
Later, the ball flew to the slip cordon where Cameron Green jumped to his left and took a one-handed catch. Even though Green took the catch while his fingers were in the air, the point of discussion was whether the ball touched the ground before he completed his dive. The third umpire analysed the catch from multiple angles, following which he adjudged the catch as a fair one.
Here’s how cricket lovers on Twitter reacted:
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were holding down India's fort at the end of Day 4 of the ongoing World Test Championship Final 2023 between India and Australia on Saturday. At the end of the day, India scored 164/3 in 40 overs with Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli at the crease with scores of 20(59)* and 44(60)*.
Also read: What next for JioCinema after IPL comes to an end? Here's what industry insiders say
Also read: 'There's money to be made': How IPL, T20 gave booster shot to cricket economy