Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Cameron Green's catch to dismiss Shubman Gill in WTC final
Cameron Green's catch to dismiss Shubman Gill on Saturday was that typical moment in all India-Australia Tests that generally becomes the bigger talking point than the match itself. The fact that it happened in the final innings of the biggest match the teams have ever played, made it even more controversial and dramatic.
Replays showed that Green's left hand touched the ground with the ball. However, despite there being no soft signal from the on-field umpire, the third umpire deemed it out, to the chagrin of Gill, his partner Rohit Sharma and thousands of Indian fans. He looked in elegant touch for his run-a-ball 18 but had to go back to the pavilion.
The two most debated buzz phrases on social media were: a) Did the ball touch the ground? and b) If it did, was Green in complete control of the ball before that?
There's no way we can be 100 percent certain on either so below are the five top takes on the issue, two from the players and three from pundits who watched it closely.
"I definitely thought I caught it" - Cameron Green
The catch-taker, Green, immediately after the match said he celebrated because he felt he had caught the ball.
"At the time I definitely thought I caught it," he said. "I think in the heat of the moment, I thought it was clean and threw it up and obviously showed no sign of any doubt. And then it's left up to the third umpire (Richard Kettleborough) and he agreed."
Soon after the incident, the all-rounder was subject to chants of "cheat" from the stands.
"It should have been checked better" - Mohammed Shami
India's official comment came from Mohammed Shami in the post-match press conference.
The pacer said the umpire could have taken some more time to check the validity of Green's catch but accepted it as a "part of the game".
"Yes, one could have taken some time, it's the World Test Championship final, not a normal match that you let go. It should have been checked better, zoomed in, but it's okay, it's part of the game..."
Shami also looked forward to Sunday, saying that the incident doesn't change India's plans much.
"Correct decision has probably been made" - Ricky Ponting
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was one of the few voices to say the third umpire made the "correct decision".
He said though some part of the ball did touch the ground, the umpire must have felt Green was in control before that.
"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," Ponting said. "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. That must have been what the umpires' interpretation was and I think that is exactly what happened," he said.
"It carried probably six or eight inches off the ground then there was another action after that. There will be a lot of talk about it I am sure and there will probably be more talk in India than in Australia, Everyone in India will think it is not out and everyone in Australia will think it is out," Ponting added.
"If it had have been given out on the field then I think the third umpire has to find conclusive evidence to overturn that decision and I don’t think there would have been conclusive evidence," said Ponting.
"The reason I am saying that is, even without the soft signal, the third umpire thought it was out. At the end of the day I think the correct decision has probably been made," he concluded.
Gill didn't shy away from expressing his frustration at Green's catch, though, and tweeted a screengrab from the broadcast of the match where the ball looked to be touching the ground, on his social media pages.
“When fingers split and come downwards, the ball will touch the grass” - Ravi Shastri
Former India head coach, Ravi Shastri, who was commentating on the match live, analyzed that Green's fingers had split when he got hold of the ball, meaning that they weren't completely underneath it and that it would have touched the ground.
“If I look at what was shown, then one has to give it out because it seems like fingers are underneath the ball," Shastri told Star Sports. "But one thing needs to be remembered, and this happened with [Virat] Kohli as well in Perth when Labuschagne (it was Peter Handscomb) ahad taken the catch. When the fingers split and come downwards, the ball will definitely touch the grass."
“If three fingers are together and then the angle is shown, then there are chances of the hand being underneath the ball. But, as you can see, the fingers were split,” he added.
Handscomb had caught Kohli (123 off 257) on the full at second slip but didn't claim the catch, only showed the ball between his split fingers after it. It was 50-50 on that occasion as well but the third umpire deemed it out.
"The catch is completed when you stand straight" - Sunil Gavaskar
Former India opener Sunil Gavaskar opined on the "control" factor, saying the catch is completed only after the fielder stands up comfortably after taking it, which didn't happen with Green.
“When you land after taking a catch and if the ball is touching the ground during the process, then it is not out," Gavaskar said. "People say that the catch was completed when the fielder held the ball. But no, the catch is completed when you stand straight [after taking the catch]. If you say that this catch has been completed, then when a fielder goes beyond the boundary after completing a catch, why is it called a six?” he added.
India lost the WTC Final by 209 runs on Sunday after getting bowled out for just 234/10 in the fourth innings.