Tim Paine
Australia skipper Tim Paine blamed TV umpire Paul Wilson for making the decision against him too quickly without seeing enough replays during the third day's play of the second Test.
Paine had joined Cameron Green at the crease as the last recognised batting pair with the Aussies struggling in second innings at 98 for five and still 33 runs behind India.
Paine made one run before attempting to hit left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja for runs through the off-side. He missed the ball which went into wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant's gloves. The Indian fieldsmen's appeal, however, was turned down by the on-field umpire but skipper Ajinkya Rahane reviewed it. The replays showed a little gap, the hotspot showed no white mark but the snicko showed a small spike which prompted the TV umpire to give him out. Paine left the field angry.
"It was extremely frustrating. Crucial part of the game, felt like I have been playing pretty well at the start of series. I felt if I could get into a partnership with Greeny, add another 50 or 100 runs together, then the whole game changes, so having finished like that is extremely disappointing. I didn't hit it, it is pretty clear from my reaction," Paine told reporters on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman recalled a similar decision which went the batsman's way in India's first innings when Cheteshwar Pujara was given not out on the first ball of the second day. There was no mark on the hotspot like in the case of Paine but there was a little spike.
"I have spoken to them (umpires and referee). It wasn't productive. My only concern was not with technology but the precedence they set with (Cheteshwar) Pujara. And the fact that the decision (Paine's) was made too quickly, he didn't look at enough replays to see full evidence where there was probably gap between bat and ball…. the line itself it started before, it went past the bat and then finished where it did. So it was a lot of things that did not marry up. I saw some photos. I don't think he took a look at the technology," said Paine.
Australia opening batsman Matthew Wade too had called for consistency and felt that Paine was wronged.
"It (Paine's dismissal) looked actually very similar to the one of Pujara. From what I have seen, the snicko showed a very similar thing. One was given out, one was not given out. The cookie crumbles sometimes but we need consistency," said Wade on Monday.
"I heard a noise on Pujara one. I was at first slip at that time. The bat was the only thing out there. We saw what you guys saw. I am assuming there was a small spike. Either way if it is out or not out, the consistency is what you want as a player," added Wade.
Earlier, Aussie fast bowler Merv Hughes had also questioned the decision to give Paine out.
"You need two pieces of information to overturn that decision (of Paine's dismissal) which was originally given not out by the umpire. One is the hotspot and the other is the snicko. You cannot overturn an on-field umpire's decision on the basis of just one," said Hughes to ABC Sport.
