While the India vs Pakistan match featured four DRS close calls, only one of them ended in failure in the 2023 World Cup match.
The India vs Pakistan match is always a hot topic, with Virat Kohli’s impressive six runs from Haris Rauf last year and Shaheen Afridi’s lead over the Indian top flight. In the first of Pakistan’s innings on Saturday, October 14, DRS made an impact with several close calls alongside India’s deadly bowling.
Pakistan were in a difficult situation as they lost their opener for 73 in 12.3 overs. But had Mohammad Rizwan’s “perfect scoring” when he was given LBW by Ravindra Jadeja after one over, they could have been three runs behind. Rizwan immediately went to the DRS after consulting skipper Babar Azam and remained there even after the ball was found to have missed the stumps.
The ball slid over the batter who missed the sweep. Replays showed him two reds on impact along the leg stump. It looked like the ball was going to hit the stumps, but television replays showed that the ball landed under his feet and Rizwan survived. Syed Ajmal, who had a similar incident during the 2011 World Cup when Sachin Tendulkar posted a similar review, tweeted: “Perfect review.”
#IndvPak Rizwan was given LBW!!
But DRS showed it wickets missing..
He survived pic.twitter.com/QST831sScZ
– Anurag Sinha (@anuragsinha1992) 1 October 2023
Ajmal narrowly lost a LBW decision against Sachin Tendulkar in the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup, but the Indian continued to make a vital contribution.
Babar and Rizwan then formed a vital partnership and it was close again in the 25th over. On the third ball sent by Kuldeep Yadav, Babar attempted a sweep but could not connect. The Indian team appealed but it was rejected by the on-field umpire.
After much deliberation, Rohit chose DRS, but at first glance Babar seemed to have a problem. However, the ball chase gave the Pakistan captain a lifeline and the ball barely touched the stump of his leg. The ball was bowled in a straight line and the impact was also red, but Babar survived on the umpire’s orders, despite a perfect 50+ ball face expected to hit the stumps. DRS specifies that at least half of the ball must hit at least half of the stumps, i.e. the center of the ball must be on or within the center line of the stumps.
This is where this umpire’s call really sucks, Babar Azam was out clearly, imo if more than 50% of ball’s Total Surface Area is hitting the stumps it must be adjudged out pic.twitter.com/IvVSEJBawa
– War Nofit (@nofitisback) 1 2023 October 10
Babar was 34 years old at the time and celebrating his 50th birthday. Without his two votes, which narrowly favored Pakistan, they would have been in even greater trouble.
India finally got a breakthrough in DRS when Kuldeep made an LBW appeal against Saud Shakeel in the 33rd over. Pakistan had the upper hand at 162-3 and a competitive score of 280 looked possible.
The ball bounced off the leg stump and Shaquille tried to flick it away with his back foot. He was unsuccessful and the ball hit his pads and he was unable to make contact. Mr. Rohit and Mr. Kuldeep immediately filed an appeal, which was dismissed. Their enthusiasm for DRS was dashed by wicketkeeper KL Rahul. He was adamant that the ball did not hit Shaquille in front of him, and even seemed to indicate that the ball hit his bat.
Despite the resistance, Rohit went ahead and was soon happy when Ultra Edge ruled Nick out and the ball chase signaled three reds. Shaquille he headed a 10-ball six.
Pertinently, India got the last wicket of Haris Rauf after a successful DRS appeal. Jadeja hit Rauf, Rauf came forward and the ball hit his pads. Although the referee on the field did not deny the decision, the DRS ruled in Pakistan’s favor and sent Rauf off. Pakistan won this grand duel by 191 points, but it was not without its DRS drama.
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The post “India, Pakistan and DRS: A story of saving the world through technology” was first published on Wisden.
