Tim Paine, the Australia captain, has blamed the use of techonology for his controversial DRS dismissal, rather than the techonology itself, after the second Test between Australia and India.
Paine was adjudged caught behind off Ravindra Jadeja in the second Australia innings, after a length ball from the Indian left-arm spinner turned and bounced past the skipper’s outside edge on its way to the wicketkeeper’s gloves. India’s appeals were turned down, but stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane immediately opted for DRS, even as Paine seemed confident that the on-field decision would be upheld.
In the subsequents replays, Hot Spot didn’t show any contact between bat and ball, but a noise was recorded around the moment the ball passed the bat on Real Time Snicko. The TV umpire judged that to be conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field not-out decision. The dismissal caused a furore on social media, with debates raging about the use of DRS.
Paine was visibly frustrated as he walked back, firm in his belief that his bat hadn’t made contact with the ball. “Just disappointed,” he told ABC Grandstand after India’s eight-wicket win on the fourth afternoon. “What can you say … to have all the technology and be given out when you don’t hit a ball in this day and age is disappointing.
“I knew I didn’t hit it. It is what it is. My thing with Snicko is it doesn’t differentiate what the noise is. It could have been anything. It could have been my thigh pad gripping, it could have been my glove, it could have been my feet dragging along the ground, it could have been the wicketkeeper’s feet. You don’t know. It picks up noise, it doesn’t tell you that was bat on ball, that was foot on the ground – it picks up noise, and if it’s within a frame for some reason, you hit it.
Nothing on the HotSpot but the Snickometer picked up a noise and Paine had to depart.
What's your take on his dismissal? 🤔#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/JJJYidNjFZ
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) December 28, 2020
“So, yeah, disappointing.”
More than the technology itself, Paine’s ire was seemingly directed at the TV umpire, who he believed hadn’t explored all options before giving his verdict.
“If I’m totally honest with what happened yesterday, I wasn’t too upset with the technology, I was upset with the use of the technology,” he said. “I thought there was other angles that should have been looked at before that was given out that showed I didn’t hit the ball.”
Australia were bowled out for 200 in the innings, a total that set India the target of 70 to win the second Test and square the series. India won by eight wickets, with the third Test of the series to be played in Sydney from January 7.
