Major Umpiring Errors Against India:Indian openers started off the chase in blazing fashion. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill played the new ball as if they were operating in ODIs. They were scoring at 6 runs per over leading into the ninth over. Scott Boland got one to nip away slightly. Shubman Gill poked at it with soft hands.
For more Cricket News and Updates Join our Telegram Channel
Cameroon Green’s celebration that led the umpire to believe:
The ball travelled to Cameroon Green who was stationed at gully plucked the ball and soon started celebrating. Gill didn’t move an inch as it appeared the ball might have bumped. The third umpire looked at a couple of angles and declared him out.
Gill and Sharma weren’t pleased. India had the right to feel disappointed. The following photo replays suggested that the ball might have touched the ground. It was not the first time that an umpiring error went against India in a big game.
We look at a few other such instances:
#1 Ricky Ponting, 2003 World Cup final
Australia was bossing the game with Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn stitching together a memorable partnership. The pair would go on to bat India out of the contest. Australia piled up 359-2 and went on to win the game comfortably. But there was a moment in the game where an umpiring error cost India.
Dinesh Mongia bowling left arm round to Ponting managed to beat his slog and hit him right in front of the middle. But the on-field umpire showed no interest. The subsequent replays indicated that the ball would have crashed to hit the middle stump. Ponting had not even reached his 100 at that point in time. It was a decisive moment in the World Cup final.
#2 The Sydney Test, 2007-08
It is no longer a mystery that India was at the receiving end of a minimum of 7 umpiring howlers in this Test. Andrew Symonds lived a charmed life in the first innings to score a big hundred. India had to bat out just a couple of sessions to save the Test. But tough umpiring calls against Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid robbed India of any chance.
India lost the Test in the dying moments of the final day. It meant India couldn’t win the series from thereon. They had to wait for 11 more years to register their first-ever Test series win in Australia.
#3 Virat Kohli, 2019 World Cup semifinal
India was rocked early in a tricky run chase of 240 in the 2019 World Cup semifinal. Rohit Sharma nicked one of Mark Henry to the wicketkeeper. Virat Kohli captaining the side is the one who thrives in such high-pressure run-chases. Trent Boult got one to nip back in sharply to Kohli.
The batter missed the flick and was caught at the crease. Boult appealed and the umpire didn’t hesitate in raising the dreaded finger. Kohli reviewed but the decision stayed as it was the umpire’s call on hitting the wickets. On a day when the call could have gone either way, it went against Kohli and India.
