Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t take sides when he gave his opinion on the controversial dismissal of KL Rahul in the first innings of the series opener between India and Australia in Perth. The on-field didn’t give the decision in Australia’s favor, as the hosts thought that the batter had nicked the ball. Pat Cummins took a DRS, and despite inconclusive replays, the third umpire overturned the on-field call and declared Rahul out.
He was miffed and said something to the official. Former players Wasim Akram, Sanjay Manjrekar, and Deep Dasgupta were unhappy and pointed fingers at the TV umpire and the local broadcaster.
They declared it not out, as the bat had also hit the pad the moment the ball passed close to the willow. They felt that there should have been two spikes on the Snickometer had the ball taken the edge of the bat. Rahul scored 26 and was looking comfortable in the middle. However, Pujara didn’t blame anyone.
“You can’t say hundred percent whether KL Rahul was out or not. It looked like the ball had first hit the bat before the willow brushed with the pad. From other angles, it seemed that the bat touched the pad at the same time when the ball passed close to the willow,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on Star Sports.
India were bowled out for 150 in their first innings, while Australia reached 67/7 at the stumps on Day 1. For the visitors, Jasprit Bumrah took four wickets, while Josh Hazlewood amassed four scalps for the hosts.
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