‘It slid down’: Tamim Iqbal questions DRS tracking after Akash Deep strikes, Ravi Shastri gives befitting reply

Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam’s dismissal on Day 1 of the second Test against India at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur sparked a debate in the commentary box among Tamim Iqbal, Ravi Shastri and Dinesh Karthik. Tamim thought the ball had skidded past the leg, but ball tracking technology showed the ball would have crashed onto the leg stump, forcing on-field referee Richard Kettleborough to change his decision from not out to out. However, Shastri and Karthik had a different opinion. They felt

It happened in the first ball of the 13th over of the Bangladesh innings when India pacer Akash Deep got one that slid in at the angle to left-hander Shadman from around the wicket. The ball threw a good length and allowed Shadman to jump to the crease. The angle of the ball deceived him and the ball plopped into his path before he could bring his bat down.

Despite a loud appeal from the Indian cricketers, led by bowler Akash Deep, umpire Kettleborough shook his head. But Akash Deep was adamant. He immediately made the ‘T’ sign by looking at captain Rohit Sharma, who didn’t seem too convinced. As standard practice, Rohit turned to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. After a brief discussion dominated by Akash Deep’s insistence, Rohit decided to send it upstairs.

When the replays were shown on the screen, it looked like the ball was going to slide down the leg side, but tracking the ball showed three reds, much to the shock and delight of the Indian payers. A pleasantly surprised Rohit was seen congratulating and hugging Akash for convincing him to join the DRS.

It was an important wicket for India as Shadman (24 off 36) was set and scored freely. But he was stopped by Akash Deep, who took his second wicket of the day.

Tamim, Shastri, DK debate Shadman Islam’s dismissal

Moments after Shadman made the long walk back to the pavilion, former Bangladesh opener Tamim asked his questions about tracking the ball for that particular delivery.

“I thought it was sliding down the leg stump, but DRS had other ideas,” Tamim said in a commentary.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri disagreed and referred to Dinesh Karthik’s comments about the camera angles creating an illusion.

“DK talked about the camera angles. It’s not always completely straight, so it can give the impression of sliding down. Bouncing would never be a problem in Kanpur. The Indian team was also surprised. There was only one member who thought that it was over and that was Akash Deep,” said Shastri.

Earlier, Rohit won the toss and opted to field, hoping to make the most of the cloudy and humid conditions, but Bangladesh’s openers put on a brave face in front of India’s new bowlers. It was the introduction of Akash Deep that gave India a number of breakthroughs. But Bangladesh captain Najmul Hasan Shanto and former skipper Mominul Haque ensured there was no further damage. Bangladesh were 74/2 at lunch.