Australia vs India 2018: Umpire Marais Erasmus Isn't Impressed With Tim Paine's Negative Tactics

Well, it has been quite a Test match at MCG. From scoring runs to dramatic fall of wickets. it has seen everything. Besides that a lot of chirping by the players and also the warnings from the umpire also took place. Apart from all, the Australian skipper Tim Paine was involved in another unhealthy tactic, which was noticed by the umpire Marais Erasmus.

Tim Paine, who wants Ravindra Jadeja to be on the strike in the first session of the fourth day tried to employ a negative tactic. He asked Pat Cummins to deliver the ball on the leg side to Rishabh Pant in order to put Jadeja on strike for the next over.

Marais Erasmus warns Tim Paine:

Meanwhile, Erasmus, who noticed the false tactic called it wide and then had a chat with the skipper Tim Paine. Erasmus termed that he wouldn’t have given it wide if the ball was delivered by Pat Cummins unintentionally.

“If he had bowled a ball down leg and then you had then dived, I would not have deemed it to be deliberate,” the veteran umpire told Paine on the field.

Test Match Playing Conditions law 2.2.1.4 states, “For bowlers whom umpires consider to be bowling down the leg side as a negative tactic, the strict limited over wide interpretation shall be applied.”

However, we come across many such things in the Test cricket but unfortunately, Tim Paine was caught, as it was pretty evident. Meanwhile, Marais Erasmus would be proud of his job in noticing the thing.

Coming to the match status, it was Indians, who are on the driver seat at the end of the Day 4 of the Test match. They are just a couple of wickets away from winning the game with 141 runs on the board.

The all-rounder Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon are at the crease, who are fighting tooth and nail to make unthinkable happen for Australia. With rain is in the forecast on Day 5, all the three results are still open.