Rohit Sharma was fortunate to survive a close lbw call after England skipper Joe Root went up for the review just after the timer hit zero on the third afternoon of the third England-India Test at Headingley.

Ollie Robinson could have had his first wicket of the day had his teammates rallied behind Root quicker as the home skipper looked to go up for a review after Richard Kettleborough turned down an lbw appeal in the 32nd over of the third innings.

Robinson sent down a delivery that seamed in and stayed low to hit Rohit on the back pad as the England fielders went up in appeal. The home team were tentative to go upstairs, but Root finally signalled for the DRS. However, the ticker came down to zero just as Root made the necessary ‘T’ sign, and so Kettleborough rejected their request. England, who had already lost two reviews earlier, were left frustrated as replays showed three reds with the ball hitting the top of the middle stump. While there had been analysis earlier in the game about how few of Robinson’s deliveries would have gone on to hit the stumps, there was no such problem on this occasion.

However, debates remained over whether the decision would have been overturned. Replays showed the ball passing close to bat and pad simultaneously, with a clear spike on UltraEdge. While some felt there was a clear gap between ball and bat, others wondered if the benefit of the doubt would have stayed with the onfield umpire’s decision. Still, it seems likely that England missed an opportunity to send back Rohit, who was batting at 39 off 104 at that moment, and carried on to an unbeaten half-century at the tea interval.

India bounced back strongly on day three of the third Test match after conceding a 354-run lead despite the early loss of KL Rahul’s wicket when the scorecard read 34. Cheteshwar Pujara along with Rohit have piled on 65 runs thus far, as the visitors look to maintain their series lead.