England were left unhappy early in the India first innings as the third umpire hastily decreed that an attempted slip catch from Ben Stokes was in fact not out.

With India still without a run on the scoreboard, Stuart Broad looked to have dismissed Shubman Gill for nought. While the on-field umpire Anil Chaudhary sent the decision upstairs to check whether or not the ball hit the ground, he gave a soft signal of ‘out’.

The third umpire Shamsuddin, after looking at a single replay, quickly overturned the decision, stating, “The ball clearly bounced.” When the decision was confirmed, a group of senior England players appeared unhappy, with skipper Joe Root and Broad seen in animated conversation with Chaudhary.

While further replays seemed to suggest that the ball did in fact hit the turf, the speed at which Shamsuddin made his decision may have irked England given the similarly hasty third umpire decisions made during the second Test. The most high profile example involved the third umpire, in that case Chaudhary, not checking whether or not the ball flicked Ajinkya Rahane’s glove on review.

Incredibly hasty decision … no more angles?

— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) February 24, 2021

The ball didn’t clearly bounce, surely? That’s out…

— Paul Newman 🌈 (@Paul_NewmanDM) February 24, 2021

Root, like his counterpart Virat Kohli in the second Test, was criticised for his remonstrations with the umpire. David Lloyd suggested that Kohli should have received a three-match ban for his on-field behaviour.

Poor from Root. Wouldn’t let it go, continued it at the end of the over. https://t.co/6yEsct2Das

— Peter Lalor (@plalor) February 24, 2021