England vs India 2018: Former Players Back Marius Erasmus' Decision to Give Joe Root Out

Published - 20 Aug 2018, 01:59 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:58 AM

England vs India, Marius Erasmus, Joe Root
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 19: England captain Joe Root is dismissed by Hardik Pandya of India during day two of the Specsavers 3rd Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge on August 19, 2018 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

The skipper of England cricket team, Joe Root was ruled out when he guided a ball towards the second slip cordon where KL Rahul claimed a clean catch off Hardik Pandya. The official Marius Erasmus gave the soft signal as out, and despite the call getting referred to the third umpire, it stayed as out.

Hardik Pandya, Joe Root, Marius Erasmus
Hardik Pandya celebrates the wicket of Joe Root on day two of the Trent Bridge Test.

The on-field umpire decided to take help of Aleem Dar who was the third-umpire. Though certain angles suggested the ball bounced before Rahul grabbed it, there were not conclusive shreds of evidence. Due to the lack of confirmation, Aleem Dar decided to stay with Marius Erasmus’ decision.

Quite clearly, Joe Root looked dejected with the decision. However, some of the former players have backed Marius Erasmus call of ruling Root out.

Marius Erasmus, Joe Root
Joe Root looked dejected after Marius Erasmus gave him out. Image Courtesy: Getty

However, India is enjoying the driver’s seat after Hardik Pandya bowled a fierce spell on day two. He ran over the middle-order of England and took his maiden five-for in Tests.

The former wicketkeeper-batsman of England, Mark Butcher, came with a reasonable interpretation on third controversies decision.

“(The) The ball travels horizontally, not vertically towards an object that is curved, not flat. Therefore the ball can and did in this case, bounce off the fingers into the palms. Out!” Butcher tweeted.

Michael Vaughan on the catch of KL Rahul

The former skipper of England, Michael Vaughan agrees with the umpire’s call. He is of the belief that it was a clean catch from the India opener, and Marius Erasmus call should stay.

“A lot of controversy over the catch – I thought he was caught. I think it bounces off the finger,” he told the BBC.

Also, the former cricketing legend of Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara supports the decision as well. While sitting in the commentatory panel, he came with his statement.

“It does look out … it looked as if the fingers were underneath the ball. You do need conclusive evidence to overturn any signal from the on-field umpires.”

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Indian National Cricket Team Joe Root
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