"Worst umpire ever" - Fans react as Mitchell Marsh controversially adjudged Not Out off Ashwin in BGT 2024-25 2nd Test
Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh was controversially adjudged Not Out by the third umpire off Ravichandran Ashwin on Day 2 of the second Test in Adelaide on Saturday, December 7. The third umpire, Richard Kettleborough, confirmed no conclusive evidence without checking the lbw decision from as many angles as possible. Moments later, the cameras confirmed that the ball struck the pad before hitting the bat, drawing reactions from fans.
The decision came during the 58th over of Australia's first innings. Ashwin bowled a short-of-a-length ball and Marsh tried to defend it with both bat and pad. Initially, it looked unclear whether the ball hit the pad or bat first. The off-spinner, however, was fully confident and prompted India captain Rohit Sharma to take a review after the on-field umpire adjudged it Not Out.
For the unversed, KL Rahul was dismissed similarly in the first Test. He was adjudged caught behind for 26 despite the bat hitting the pads and not the ball.
On both occasions, former Australia batter Matthew Hayden called out why was there a rush on such decisions.
Fans on X slammed the umpires for the error in judgment. One user wrote:
"Worst umpire ever. It was a clear pad first of Mitchell Marsh off Ravi Ashwin's ball."
Another user wrote:
"Why was the third umpire in a hurry to decide the review Ashwin pushed for against Marsh? It looked like pad first, clearly. But decided within seconds from just one angle?"
A third user added:
"Blunder decision by third umpire. #Marsh was out by @ashwinravi99. It was pad first."
Here are a few more reactions:
Australia take first innings lead against India in 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test; Mitchell Marsh survives lbw call
Half-centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head have helped Australia take the first-innings lead in the second Test on Day 2.
At the time of writing, the hosts were 191/4, with Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh at the crease. They have extended their first innings lead by 11 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah has been the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, bagging three wickets so far. Labuschagne was the last batter to be dismissed, courtesy of a stunning catch by Yashasvi Jaiswal off Nitish Kumar Reddy.
India are leading the five-game series by 1-0, following their thumping 295-run victory over Australia in Perth.
Follow the IND vs AUS 2024-25 2nd Test live score and updates here.