Twitter caught fire after Ajinkya Rahane was declared exhausted by the third referee on Day 3 of the second test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday. It was close, but Rahane’s bat seemed to be on the line when the replays were shown. Netizens compared Rahane’s career to Tim Paine’s shutdown in the Australian innings and asked why India’s backup captain wasn’t given the benefit of the doubt like his Australian counterpart.
The incident took place in the 100th of Indian innings after Rahane and Jadeja, India’s night batsmen, traded the first half hour of Day 3 without much discomfort. Jadeja pushed a ball for cover and took off, leaving Rahane close to his ground and running towards the end of the striker at 294-6.
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Backup captain Rahane added eight runs to his nightly score of 104 before Ravindra Jadeja at 49 made a desperate attempt to reach his half century, in a move that cost Rahane his window.
Rahane was given 112 by the third referee after he watched the replays. What triggered the blackout of the Indian fans on Twitter was the fact that the third referee did not ask for another angle as he had done in the case of Paine in the opening innings before ruling against it.
Explaining the difference between Paine and Rahane’s dead-end reps, former ICC elite panel referee Simon Taufel said: “The third referee has a shot here from the break point and the bat on the line “.
Rahane and Jadeja had led India to a lead in the first inning with their 121-race partnership for sixth field. Rahane, 32, calmly absorbed the pressure applied by Australian bowlers on his patient, 223-ball hit, hitting 12 limits on his 112.
India vs Australia Live Score 2nd Test Day 3
The absence of captain Virat Kohli had left Indian fans fearing another heavy defeat in the second round. But Rahane gave a great performance of his own, scoring his 12th century test.
Exhausted from a series of short pitch deliveries, Jadeja lunged and was caught in the middle of the wicket deep for 57 when pace pitcher Mitchell Starc claimed his third wicket of the innings.
Starc (3-78) hit Ravi Ashwin on the chest and Umesh Yadav on the arm in his next over. Yadav was caught slipping off spinner Nathan Lyon’s bowling alley (3-72) at 325-8.
Ashwin left in the next over, caught in Josh Hazlewood’s bowling alley ravine, and Lyon struck again to eliminate Jasprit Bumrah (0) minutes before lunch to end India’s inning.
Australia’s sloppy fielding proved costly during India’s early innings. Starter Shubman Gill (45) fell twice. Rahane also offered a shot through the vacant first slip position at 57, and fell at 73 and 104 in the final delivery of Sunday’s second day of play, when Travis Head grabbed a catch on point.
India is without its best hitter and captain Kohli for the remainder of the series, after he returned home to be with his wife at the birth of their first child. Kohli left with India trailing 1-0 in the four-game series after an eight-wicket loss in Adelaide, where the tourists were eliminated by a national record of 36 in their second inning.
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