The final hour of the fourth Test between India and Australia was marked by controversy, particularly regarding Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal, which became a major talking point. Jaiswal was given out caught behind off Pat Cummins, but the on-field umpire initially ruled him not out. Australia reviewed the decision, and despite the snickometer showing no clear evidence of a touch, the third umpire believed the ball had deflected off Jaiswal’s gloves and overturned the decision.
Indian cricket experts were taken aback by this decision. Sunil Gavaskar suggested that the apparent deflection could have been an optical illusion. However, Ricky Ponting defended the third umpire’s call, stating that Jaiswal had already started walking when the review was called.
“They can make of it what they like. That clearly hit the glove. Jaiswal actually started to walk as soon as he knows they went upstairs, he started to take a couple of steps away. Snicko has proven to be correct. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no argument whatsoever,” the former Australian captain commented on air.
Jaiswal, visibly surprised by the decision, spoke with the on-field umpire. His dismissal left India struggling at 140/7. Six overs later, Akash Deep was dismissed for 7 off 17 balls, and just 14 balls after that, Scott Boland dismissed Jasprit Bumrah.
India had been set a target of 340 in the fourth innings. They began the chase reasonably well, with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal playing 16.1 overs for 25 runs. However, both Rohit and KL Rahul were dismissed in the 17th over, and Virat Kohli’s continued struggles saw him make just 5 runs off 29 balls. Rishabh Pant fought on for 104 balls, scoring just 30 runs, but his wicket marked the beginning of India’s collapse as they were bowled out for 155.
