Rishabh Pant's contentious dismissal in the second innings of the third Test against New Zealand raised several eyebrows. The batter was given not-out originally for a bat-pad catch appeal in the 22nd over of India's run chase of 147. Ajaz Patel, the bowler, and the close-in fielders thought of an inside edge and went for the review after umpire Richard Illingworth ruled it not out.
As it turned out, third umpire Paul Reiffel overturned the decision. When the ball passed Pant's bat, his willow was also close to the pad and the third umpire noted that the spike on the ultra-edge could be due to the bat hitting the pad. However, he changed his mind after thinking the ball deflected when the ball passed the bat.
The dismissal put New Zealand as favourites to win the match. India were at 106/6 at that time with 41 more needed but went seven down with Pant's wicket. India captain Rohit Sharma spoke on the dismissal after the match.
"About that dismissal, I honestly, I don't know. f we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is not conclusive evidence, it has to stand with the umpire's on-field decision. That is what I have been told. So I don't know how that decision was overturned, since the umpire didn't give him out," Rohit said after the loss.
"The bat was clearly close to the pad. So, again, I don't know if it is the right thing for me to talk about. It is something for the umpires to think about. Have the same rules for every team, not keep changing their mind," he added.
Meanwhile, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham explained his thinking behind taking the review on Pant which was their last DRS.
"A few of us heard two noises, and I guess when you review in that situation you leave it up to the umpire's hands," he said. "We can't necessarily see the footage that the third umpire gets so that's certainly out of our control in terms of what that may look like. We obviously heard a couple of noises and decided to take the review and obviously it fell on the right side for us so that's obviously up to the umpires. It's out of our control," he said after the match.
"That dismissal actually was very, very crucial from our point of view. Rishabh was really looking good at that point. And it felt like he will take us through. But it was an unfortunate dismissal. Got out and then we were bowled out right after that," he added.
