On Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy opener at Anantapur, India C appeared to be on course for victory against India D, needing just 80 runs with eight wickets still in hand during the second session.
Rajat Patidar and Aryan Juyal were comfortably settled, their partnership well past fifty and nearing a century. However, the game’s outcome might have been quite different if the umpire had sided with the Shreyas Iyer-led bowling side at a critical moment in the first session.
After an opening stand of 64, India D had dismissed both openers, Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, in quick succession while defending 243. Iyer then brought Axar Patel into the attack against the newly arrived Patidar. The left-arm spinner seemed to make an impact when he trapped Patidar in front of the stumps in the 22nd over.
The ball had drifted in with the angle from around the wicket, and Patidar missed the line. Despite the clear appeal, the umpire did not give Patidar out, as there were two distinct noises when the ball struck the pad.
Iyer, convinced of the dismissal, referred the decision upstairs. Replays revealed that the ball had hit both the pad and the inside edge of the bat almost simultaneously, making the UltraEdge technology inconclusive. After a thorough review, the TV umpire upheld the on-field decision, concluding there was no definitive gap between bat and ball.
— Gill Bill (@bill_gill76078) September 7, 2024
Iyer was visibly frustrated and approached the on-field umpires for an explanation. He even reenacted the incident to demonstrate why he believed the ball must have struck the bat, but his arguments were dismissed. The situation quickly became a topic of amusement on Twitter.