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'It slipped down': Tamim Iqbal questions DRS pursuit after Akash Deep slams, Ravi Shastri gives a fitting reply

The dismissal of Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam on the first day of the second Test against India at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur triggered a debate between Tamim Iqbal, Ravi Shastri and Dinesh Karthik in the commentary box. Tamim thought the ball was sliding down leg, but ball tracking technology showed it had crashed onto leg stump, forcing field umpire Richard Kettleborough to change his decision from not out to out. However, Shastri and Karthik had a different opinion. They felt

India's Akash Deep celebrates with teammates (PTI)
India's Akash Deep celebrates with teammates (PTI)

It happened in the first ball of the 13th over of the Bangladesh innings when Indian pacer Akash Deep scored with an angle to left-hander Shadman from near the wicket. The ball was thrown a good length and made Shadman hop towards the goal area. The angle of the throw deceived him and the ball hit his pad before he could bring his racket to the ground.

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

When the replays came on the screen, it actually looked like the ball was sliding down the leg side, but the ball tracking showed three red dots, much to the shock and delight of the Indian players. A pleasantly surprised Rohit was seen congratulating Akash and hugging him for convincing him to choose 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 and DK discuss Shadman Islam's dismissal

Soon after Shadman made the long trek back to the pavilion, former Bangladesh opener Tamim asked his questions about tracking the ball on that particular delivery.

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

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri contradicted him, pointing to Dinesh Karthik's comments about the camera angles creating an illusion.

“DK talked about the camera angles. It is not always completely straight, so it may appear that it is sliding down. Rebounding should never be a problem in Kanpur. The Indian team was also surprised. There was only one member who “I believed it was out and that was Akash Deep,” Shastri said.

Earlier, Rohit had won the toss and opted to field, hoping to take full advantage of the overcast and damp conditions, but the Bangladesh openers put on a brave face in front of India's new ball bowlers. It was the introduction of Akash Deep that gave India some breakthroughs. But Bangladesh captain Najmul Hasan Shanto and former captain Mominul Haque ensured no further damage was done. Bangladesh were 74/2 at lunch.

By Vanessa

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