Two umpire's calls became the demise for Ravindra Jadeja as he had to depart after scoring a deft knock of 87 runs.
Star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja looked set to complete his century as he arrived on the pitch on Day 3 of the IND vs ENG 1st Test in Hyderabad. However, he was struck by ill fate and had to depart 13 runs shy of the century.
During the 120th over of the first Indian innings, Joe Root delivered a length ball targeting the off stump. Jadeja attempted to defend it off the front foot but the ball appeared to make contact with both bat and pad. Consequently, Jadeja was given out lbw.
Jadeja wasted no time in opting for a review, and upon examining the replays, it became evident that he had indeed made an inside edge. The point of contention centered around whether the contact occurred with the bat first or the pad, and the third umpire couldn’t definitively reach a conclusion.
The third umpire deferred to the on-field umpire’s initial decision and proceeded to ball-tracking. The impact was once again deemed umpire’s call as the replays predicted the ball merely clipping the bails.
#IndvEng Jadeja given OUT LBW on 87.
DRS also ruled it OUT.. IND 436/8 pic.twitter.com/oP1OFgtqjm— Anurag Sinha (@anuragsinha1992) January 27, 2024
Since the on-field umpire had already ruled Jadeja out, the decision was upheld, compelling Jadeja to depart. According to MCC Law 36.2.2, “If the ball makes contact with the striker’s person and bat simultaneously, this shall be considered as the ball having first touched the bat.”
In Jadeja’s case, 36.2.2 is very crucial and he can consider himself unlucky to be dismissed after the ball had hit the bat and pad simultaneously.
Following Jadeja’s dismissal, India failed to accumulate much runs as Jasprit Bumrah was dismissed on the very next ball from Root. Subsequently, Axar Patel also failed to secure a half-century, departing a few deliveries later as India secured a 190-run first-innings lead against England.
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