Mumbai: England had a brilliant day of Test cricket in Rajkot against India, on Wednesday. Joe Root struck a comfortable 124 on the first day, while Moeen Ali is still unbeaten on 99.
However, the biggest talking point of the day was the controversial dismissal of Joe Root.
In the 81st over, Root, who was looking very comfortable hit a beautiful looking straight drive, unfortunately it was hit straight to the bowler Umesh Yadav.
The bowler took a low return catch to dismiss the English batsman. In the hurry to celebrate, Yadav tossed the ball. The paceman lost the ball as it fell behind him.
Team India started to celebrate as they felt they had their man, but Root didn’t look convinced about the catch and asked for a review. On-field umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Chris Gaffaney referred the decision to third umpire Rod Tucker, who after going through few replays, decided to give Root out.
The cricket rules state that the fielder should be in complete control for a catch to stand and Tucker also felt the same. The catch brought back the memories of Herschelle Gibbs dropping Steve Waugh in the 1999 World Cup semifinal. Gibbs dropped Waugh as he tried to celebrate the wicket prematurely.
Talking about his dismissal after the match, Root said there’s no point arguing about the catch.
"It's out, isn't it? There's no point arguing it. I set off walking off anyway so, let's leave it at that," said Root after the first day’s play.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the batsman said he was disgusted with the shot.
"I was quite disgusted with the shot. You see the replay on the big screen, and you take it with a pinch of salt. "
