Veteran India spinner Harbhajan Singh has expressed displeasure with the third umpire’s decision to give Shubman Gill out on Day 4 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final after Australian all-rounder Cameron Green completed a controversial catch at The Oval. After declaring their innings at 270/8 on Saturday, June 10, the Pat Cummins-led side set India a target of 444 for victory. Team India got off to an explosive start, with openers Rohit Sharma and Gill scoring 41 runs.
Following the tea break, Gill was given out in a controversial dismissal. In the first delivery of the 8th over bowled by Scott Boland, the young opener was undone by the extra bounce as the ball hit the shoulder of his bat when he was lunging forward. Green dived to his left and took a one-handed catch, but the point of discussion was whether the ball touched the ground before the Aussie completed it.
Richard Kettleborough, the third umpire, took his time analysing the catch from several camera angles and later determined that Green’s fingers were under the ball. This sparked debate among fans and commentators, as Gill took to social media and mocked the decision after the end of the day’s play.
Harbhajan has now weighed in on the decision while speaking with Star Sports, stating that it was not out, and criticised the third umpire for making the call. The 42-year-old also stated that one has the technology, camera, and everything else that makes decision-making easier, but in this case, the decision is merely wrong. Green’s fingers were not placed on the ball, indicating that it had touched down, according to the former spinner.
“According to me, it’s not out. Why didn’t you zoom in at the moment where you should have zoomed? It’s beyond my understanding. You have the technology, camera and every single small thing that makes the decision-making easy for you. But here the decision is only wrong”.
His (Cameron Green’s) two fingers weren’t placed on the ball that means the ball had touched down. When you weren’t sure whether the fingers touched the ball then it should have been given not out,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.
Team India ended Day 4 at 164 for 3, needing 280 runs to win the ongoing WTC final. Virat Kohli (44*) and Ajinkya Rahane (20*) aided India’s comeback in the 444-run chase, stitching an unbeaten 71-run fourth-wicket stand to keep the Rohit Sharma-led side in contention.