Alick Athanaze was given out in contentious circumstances in the second West Indies-India Test, with an lbw decision upheld despite UltraEdge showing a spike as ball passed bat.
West Indies were battling hard in response to India’s total of 438. Kraigg Brathwaite had defied India for 235 balls, and the rest of the top order had chipped in to keep the tourists at bay.
Starting day four, West Indies were 228-5 and hoping to keep their rearguard going. Instead, the dismissal of Athanaze in the first over of the day set in motion a slide of 5-26 in seven overs.
Athanaze was initially given out after Mukesh Kumar, bowling from over the wicket, got the ball to straighten and hit the youngster on the front pad. He reviewed, and initially it looked as if a thin scratch on UltraEdge would save him, only for the TV umpire to say that a “clear gap” between bat and ball was evidence that no contact had been made. Ball-tracking technology then showed that the ball would have just clipped leg stump, and so Athanaze was sent on his way.
“Left of screen showing that there was a gap, as you heard from the TV umpire, and ball tracking just clipping that leg stump,” explained the commentator.
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Some West Indies fans were frustrated by the UltraEdge aspect of the decision. While there is a small gap visible on the left-hand side of the key frame, that frame also shows the ball slightly behind the bat, rather than showing the position of the ball when it was right next to the face.
There have been several moments of DRS controversy in this game. Ravindra Jadeja was given out despite the wrong footage being used during a review, while R Ashwin chose to review a decision a second time after feeling a deflection had been missed.
