It happened during the eighth over bowled by Punjab spinner Ravi Bishnoi. The leggie bowled a googly, and Devdutt Padikkal went for a reverse sweep shot. Padikkal failed to connect the bat properly, and it seemed the white leather brushed his glove and was caught by KL Rahul behind the stumps.
After taking the catch, Rahul immediately went for an appeal, but the on-field umpire looked unconvinced. However, the PBKS skipper took the DRS as the decision went upstairs.
The replay clearly showed a spike on the ultra edge when the ball passed Padikkal’s gloves. But shockingly, the third umpire K Srinivasan didn’t look certain and ruled the decision in the batsman’s favour.
No wonder Rahul looked visibly displeased and was seen asking the on-field umpires about the decision.
Former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth expressed his shock and termed it as terrible umpiring.
“Terrible umpiring, mistakes like that is unforgivable with so much technology and help these days! #RCBvsPBKS #IPL2021,” tweeted Srikkanth.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris even asked the third umpire to get sacked as it was nothing but a joke.
“Sack the 3rd umpire immediately #SelectDugout What a joke! “ wrote Styris on the micro-blogging website.
The official Twitter handle of Punjab also expressed the disbelief on the umpiring blunder that gave Padikkal a lifeline.
“Whaaaaaaaaaat? Ultra Edge showed a spike, but the third umpire feels otherwise,” tweeted PBKS.
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra wrote: “How was that Not Out??? #Devdutt #IPL2021 #RCBvPBKD.”
Padikkal, however, didn’t have a long stay as he could only add five runs to his tally after the shocking call. The left-handed batter was eventually dismissed on 40 off 38 by Moises Henriques.
Here are some other reactions:
That was clear out. Shame on the third umpire. pic.twitter.com/DLqMjjY8YH
—(@FourOverthrows) October 3, 2021
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