Chants of 'cheat, cheat, cheat' echoed at the Oval Cricket Ground on Saturday when Australian all-rounder Cameron Green dismissed Indian batsman Shubman Gill with low catch. Gill was in disbelief when he was dismissed for 18 in an opening stand of 41.
The catch became a controversial one as the ball seemed to be touching the ground.
Later, Gill expressed his disappointment by sharing screenshots of catch in social media which shows that the Aussie had grounded the ball before completing the catch.
🔎🔎🤦🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/pOnHYfgb6L
— Shubman Gill (@ShubmanGill) June 10, 2023
The controversial dismissal of Gill has become a social media debate with many criticising the catch.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was seen having a chat with on-field umpires regarding the catch during tea break.
"At the time I definitely thought I caught it. I think in the heat of the moment I thought it was clean," said Cameron Green after the play. "It was left up to the third umpire and he agreed."
"Obviously the Indian crowd are so passionate and obviously one of the favourite guys Shubman Gill go out, and I think that's what they were all kind of looking forward to watching, so it is what it is and we move on," said Green.
Meanwhile, reacting to the catch, BCCI president Rajeev Shukla told ANI that "We should not create a dispute over this. We should accept the decision of the Third umpire."
Though it was a close call, reportedly, the camera angles suggested that the ball was touching the grass.
"They (umpires) could have taken more time. They could have zoomed in. It is not normal match, it is a WTC final. Could have checked more," said Indian pacer Mohammed Shami.
The not-out signal signal from the field umpires to the TV umpire could have gone in favour of India. Gill was batting well with his partner Rohit. The final call was with TV umpire Richard Kettleborough, who adjudged it as a fair catch.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting spoke about the issue on the commentary. “"When I saw it live, I knew it had carried to him on the full, but I wasn't sure what the action was after that from all replays we have seen. I actually think some part of the ball did touch the ground and it is the interpretation of the umpire that as long as the fielder has complete control of the ball before the ball hits the ground then it is out,” he said.
“That must have been what the umpires' interpretation was and I think that is exactly what happened,” he added.
India reached 164/3 in a 444-run chase on Day 4 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
