England vs India 2021: The Right Decision Was Made By The Umpire On KL Rahul's Wicket - VVS Laxman

Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman has opined that the third umpire made the right decision by giving KL Rahul out during the fourth Test between England and India at the Oval. In the lunch session on Day 3, Rahul was ruled caught behind after England reviewed the on-field umpire’s call.

At a crucial juncture in the match, the third umpire had a big call to make. Rahul had played at a delivery from James Anderson which he seemed to have missed, at least according to the umpire on-field. England decided to review and as it turned out, there was a huge spike on UltraEdge.

Sunil Gavaskar on-air felt that there was no clear edge since the bat had also brushed the pad. He felt it looked doubtful even with the help of the technology. Laxman on the other hand believes the spike showed up not when the bat was close to the pad but when it was near the ball.

“I thought it was out. When the contact between the bat and ball happened, the bat was well ahead. There was enough gap between the bat and the pad. So it was clear that [the spike] was because of the impact between bat and ball.”

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“So I thought it was a fair decision. Sometimes, such kinds of decisions, especially in that situation of the match, everyone will have different opinions. But I thought it was the right decision by the umpire,” Laxman said.

“There was a genuine reason for him to have that doubt” – VVS Laxman on the reason why KL Rahul was not happy with the decision

After the on-field umpire changed his decision on the command of the third umpire, Rahul seemed miffed about it. He believed it was the bat brushing the pads which induced the spike on the UltraEdge. However, once he sees the replay in the dressing room, he’ll accept the decision, as per Laxman.

“Having worked with KL Rahul, you know that he is a very genuine guy. There was a genuine reason for him to have that doubt because while the bat was coming down, it brushed the back pad. And that’s the reason why I felt Rahul was in doubt.”

“Probably once he goes back to the changing room, once he will see the replay, he will probably understand and accept the decision. The kind of start he got, he would have been disappointed not to have converted into a 3-figure mark. That’s [also] probably why he reacted in that fashion,” Laxman concluded.

Rahul scored a brisk 46 before being adjudged caught behind off Anderson. Earlier, he had an LBW decision reversed in his favor and it certainly looked like the technology was right on both occasions.

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