'Controversy! Little grey area once again. Did Pant get bat on that or not?'
Rishabh Pant's fiery innings of 64 was abruptly cut short by a controversial LBW decision that has ignited a debate among cricket fans and experts alike.
The Indian wicketkeeper-batter, who was in scintillating form, was given out by the third umpire after New Zealand reviewed the on-field decision which proved to be a decisive moment in the contest.
The incident occurred during the third Test match between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium. Pant, who had smashed 64 from 57 balls, was struck on the pad by an Ajaz Patel delivery.
The on-field umpire initially signaled 'not out', but the Kiwi team opted for a DRS review.
The UltraEdge technology showed a spike when the ball passed the bat, leading the third umpire to overturn the on-field decision.
However, Pant and many cricket enthusiasts argued that the spike could have been caused by the bat hitting the pad, rather than the ball.
Former South African captain AB de Villiers also expressed his concerns about the decision on social media.
"Controversy! Little grey area once again. Did Pant get bat on that or not? 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?!," ABD said on X, formerly Twitter.
"Fact is there must’ve been doubt. Surely you stay with on-field call then? Unless the 3rd 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." he added.
