Rohit Sharma Questions Controversial Dismissal of Rishabh Pant

In the aftermath of the contentious third umpire decision that ruled Rishabh Pant out, Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed his bewilderment regarding the overturning of the on-field umpire's call. Pant’s explosive innings of 64 runs off just 57 balls came to an abrupt end during the second over after lunch on the third and final day of the Test match in Mumbai, contributing to India’s eventual 25-run loss and a 0-3 series sweep against New Zealand.

The incident occurred during the 22nd over of India’s chase when Pant stepped down to Ajaz Patel but failed to connect properly with the ball. As he defended the delivery, the ball struck his pad and popped up, leading to an easy catch for wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. Umpire Richard Illingworth initially ruled the batter not out, prompting New Zealand to request a referral.

Upon review, UltraEdge detected a 'spike' as the ball passed the bat, but there was also an audible noise suggesting the bat may have touched the front pad at the same moment. Despite Pant’s arguments with the on-field umpires, third umpire Paul Reiffel ultimately overturned the decision, which had significant ramifications for India's chances in the match.

During the post-match press conference, Rohit Sharma said, “About that dismissal, I honestly, I don't know. If we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is no conclusive evidence, it has to stand with the umpire's on-field decision. That is what I have been told. So, I don't know how that decision was overturned since the umpire didn't give him out.”

He further elaborated, “The bat was clearly close to the pad. So, again, I don't know if it is the right thing for me to talk about. It is something for the umpires to think about. Have the same rules for every team, not keep changing their mind. But again, that dismissal was very, very crucial from our point of view. Rishabh was looking good at that point, and it felt like he would take us through. But it was an unfortunate dismissal, and then we were bowled out right after that.”

The decision also sparked debate on social media, with former South African captain AB de Villiers highlighting the ambiguity in technology usage during reviews. He wrote on X, “Controversy! Little grey area once again. Did Pant get bat on that or not? The problem is when the ball passes the bat at exactly the same time a batter hits his pad, snicko will pick up the noise. But how sure are we he hit it? I’ve always worried about this, and here it happens at a huge moment in a big Test match. Where's hotspot?!”

De Villiers continued, “The fact is there must've been doubt. Surely you stay with the on-field call then? Unless the third ump clearly saw a deviation? I'm not so sure. And don’t get me wrong, I have no bias here, just pushing for consistent calls and good use of tech.”

New Zealand captain Tom Latham responded to the controversy in his own press conference, noting that his team’s close-in fielders heard two distinct noises, prompting their review of the decision. “Yeah, a few of us heard two noises, so I guess when you review it in that situation, you leave it up to the umpire's hands. We can't necessarily see the footage that the third umpire gets, so that’s out of our control,” Latham said. “But you know, we obviously heard a couple of noises and decided to take the review, and it obviously fell on the right side for us, so yeah, that's obviously up to the umpires; it’s out of our control.”