Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed despite the snicko not showing a deflection

There was considerable controversy over Yashasvi Jaiswal's caught-behind dismissal at the MCG: here's why the decision was correct.

 

Jaiswal was the last-man standing for India, one of only two players to get into double-digits, as Australia ran through India's top order to set up a remarkable last day of cricket in the Boxing Day Test.

Also read: Updated World Test Championship standings after Australia's MCG victory over India

His dismissal was the final nail in India's coffin, but it also caused plenty of debate, leaving Jaiswal himself fuming at the call.

Off the second-last ball of the 71st over, Jaiswal tried to pull at a Pat Cummins short one down the leg side, but ended up sending it to Alex Carey behind the stumps. To the naked eye, it felt like he might have gloved it: Australia appealed, but Joel Wilson was unmoved. Pat Cummins decided to review it.

Umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat was tasked with validating the review, and went through the replays to check if there was any deflection. There seemed to be a clear deflection off Jaiswal, as the ball's track changed, but the real-time snicko surprisingly did not show a big spike as the ball passed.

The TV umpire went by the visual evidence, and proceeded to give Jaiswal out.

There was immense furore over the dismissal, both at the venue and on social media, with "Cheater, Cheater" chants doing the rounds at the MCG.

Taufel explains: Correct decision was made

Former Australia umpire Simon Taufel, regarded as one of the best ever, explained how the correct decision had been made.

"In my view, that decision was out. The third umpire did make the correct decision in the end. With the technology protocols, we do have a hierarchy of redundancy. When the third umpire sees a clear deflection off the bat, then there really is no need to go any further or use any other forms of technology to prove the case.

"Clear deflection is conclusive evidence. In this particular case, what we have seen from the second umpire is that they have used a secondary form of technology, which, for whatever reason, hasn't shown the same conclusive evidence of audio to back up the clear deflection. In the end, the umpire did the right thing, went back to the clear deflection, and overturned the on-field decision".

On commentary, there was a general consensus that the correct decision was made.

"They can make of it what they like. That clearly hit the glove", said Ricky Ponting. "As far as I'm concerned, there's no argument whatsoever."

Mark Nicholas said: "I think it's very brave of the third umpire to override the snicko", while Ravi Shastri remarked: "The third umpire has every right to overturn the decision. I genuinely think there might have been a slight deflection".

Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.