[Watch] Ravichandran Ashwin reviews third umpire's DRS decision in never-seen-before drama in TNPL 2023
Add another item to the 'Ravichandran Ashwin special' list. The spin all-rounder reviewed a DRS decision made by the third umpire in a Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) match between Ba11sy Trichy and Dindigul Dragons on Wednesday, making it two reviews on a single ball.
It happened on the last ball of the third over. Ashwin, playing soon after his trip back from the Oval, got Trichy's R Rajkumar to drive on a full ball outside the off-stump. The batter missed, and the wicketkeeper celebrated a caught-behind and the umpire gave it out immediately. Rajkumar reviewed it the next moment.
The third umpire went through it multiple times. There was a big spike when the ball passed the bat but the umpire felt it was for the bat scruffing the pitch. As soon as the on-field umpire changed his decision, Ashwin reviewed it again. The third umpire went through the entire process for the second time and still ruled not out.
You can watch all the drama here:
2 reviews in one ball, one by batter and one by bowler (Ashwin).
Rarest of incident in world cricket.
https://t.co/jB1zZ9qcmw
The third umpire can be heard saying that he can see a gap between the bat on the ball at one of the angles (not visible in the video), making him believe that the spike was due to the bat's contact with the pitch.
Although there's no mention of challenging a third umpire's DRS call on the ICC website, which only talks about reviewing "on-field" calls, it also does not say that you can not do it. The ICC top-ranked Test bowler is known for being among the smartest cricket brains and bringing fresh energy to the cricket field, including fighting the non-striker run-out taboo and retiring out mid-innings in a T20 game.
Ashwin picks two wickets on his TNPL return
The drama about his non-selection in the World Test Championship (WTC) final hasn't even settled yet and Ashwin is back to his wicket-taking ways. Despite not getting the above decision in his favor, he picked up two wickets for just 26 runs and even bowled a maiden in four overs.
The Dindigul Dragons bowled Ba11sy Trichy out for 120. In reply, Dragons chased down the score with more than five overs to spare.