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Former cricketers were left flabbergasted after Hardik Pandya's freak dismissal in the first ODI against New Zealand triggered a massive debate about the authenticity of the decision.
The shocking episode happened in the 40th over of the home team's innings when Hardik Pandya went for a cut shot against New Zealand pacer Daryl Mitchell. But the 28-year-old cricketer mistimed his stroke and the ball went into the gloves of Tom Latham who was keeping wickets for the visitors. As the ball fizzed past the wickets, the bails fell and the Kiwis appealed for a bowled dismissal.
With the on-field umpires unsure whether Hardik Pandya was out, they asked the third umpire to make the decision. KN Ananthapadmanabhan then looked at multiple replays before declaring the Indian batter out. This came after shots from different angles seem to suggest that it was Tom Lathan who had dislodged the bails.
Once the decision was shown on the big screen, a shell-shocked Hardik Pandya made his walk back to the pavilion.
Former India coach Ravi Shastri, who was in the commentary box at the time, reckoned the India batter was “not out”. “Oh, it's been given out! Daryl Mitchell should be happy,” Shastri said on live TV. “Should really be happy, because that, if you take a look again as to where the keeper's gloves are, where the ball is as it passes the stumps, it looked as if the ball was at least an inch, inch-and-a-half above the stumps … Ball clearly looks to be above the bail. You can see as it goes past into the gloves, there's no red light, it's only after that. There you go. From that angle you can see that the gloves are closer to the bails than the ball,” he added.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also felt Hardik Pandya was done in by the umpire whose call was clearly not fair to the Indian cricket team's vice-captain.
“Forget about split screens and replays, the cut shot from Shubhman Gill proved why Hardik was clearly Not Out,” Ravichandran Ashwin wrote on Twitter.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Wasim Jaffer shared similar views and tweeted: “Hardik robbed there.”
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, who was at the non-striker's end when the incident took place, also thought that Hardik Pandya was not out.
“As a non-striker batsman, I didn't think that the ball hit the stumps, even when I was watching the replay. Sometimes there's a blind spot – you can't really tell what happened. I thought with the bail falling towards the crease, it's a bit weird if the ball is hitting like that and the bail falling towards the crease,” Shubman Gill said at the post-match press conference.
“These bails are different. It's a heavy bail and the stumps are a bit different. But, at the end of the day, you have to go with the third umpire and respect his decision,” he added.
Coming back to the match, India posted a huge total of 349/5 on the board in their allotted 50 overs, courtesy of Shubman Gill's blistering double hundred, who eventually got out for 208 off 149 balls.
If Gill was India's batting hero, New Zealand's response was led by Michael Bracewell, who was equally good at unleashing mayhem on Mohammed Shami and company.
At 110/5, the Black Caps looked down at out, but once Michael Bracewell arrived at the crease, the whole complexion of the game changed rather quickly.
Throughout his knock, Michael Bracewell dealt in boundaries and sixes and brought his hundred in just 57 balls. Afterward, he took the Kiwis extremely close to victory with 20 runs needed to win in the final over.
The left-hand batter then struck a six on the first ball of the 50th over. However, his dream of taking New Zealand across the line didn't come to fruition as Shardul Thakur got him out LBW, giving India a narrow 12-run triumph over the Tom Latham-led side.
After the Men in Blue notched up their fourth consecutive win, the talismanic Virat Kohli even acknowledged that Shubman Gill played a lone hand in India's total of 349, and that's why his knock was special.
“I would call it outstanding. Especially considering that the next best score wasn't even 40, and the fact that he got a double hundred was a knock at a very, very high level,” Virat Kohli said in a video on BCCI.tv.
“I think he was totally in his element today and showed why so many people have been saying such great things about him for years. I wish him all the best. Hope he builds on this. Today it was just a privilege to watch him bat,” Virat Kohli added.
