Lord's Test: Sunil Gavaskar questions DRS, Ashwin takes shot at umpire Paul Reiffel

Sunil Gavaskar questions DRS, Ashwin takes shot at umpire Paul Reiffel

A number of contentious umpiring calls have been made during the third Test match between England and India at Lord's, with Australian umpire Paul Reiffel and DRS coming under scrutiny. Several decisions made on Day 4 of this pivotal match have generated discussion and criticism from fans and former cricket players and it continued on the final day.

Renowned India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has publicly criticized Paul Reiffel for his poor umpiring, pointing to a pattern of calls that have sailed for the Indian team. Ashwin talked about his personal encounters with the seasoned umpire on his "Ash ki Baat" show on YouTube.

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"My experience with Paul Reiffel… I want to talk to him. I am not saying that I should tell him that give it out. It’s not like that. Whenever India bowls, he always feels it’s not out. Whenever India bats, he always feels it’s out. If it’s not against India but against all teams, then the ICC has to see towards it," Ashwin said of Reiffel.

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Ashwin singled out two situations in which he thought the umpiring calls were dubious. Mohammed Siraj's LBW plea against Joe Root was the first occurrence. Even though replays indicated that the ball would have struck the leg stump, Reiffel rejected the appeal. This decision was upheld because of the Decision Review System's (DRS) 'umpire's call' provision.

Former India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating at the time, was unreserved in his evaluation. He said that the ball-tracking data displayed inflated movement, casting doubt on its accuracy.

"You're saying it was going to kiss the leg stump? There's no way. It was knocking the leg stump off. The only good thing is that India have not lost the review," Gavaskar said.

WATCH: Ravindra Jadeja clashes with Brydon Carse at Lord's on Day 5; Ben Stokes plays peacemaker

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Reiffel's decision to give out Shubman Gill caught behind off Brydon Carse's bowling later in the day was another controversial one. DRS replays, however, seemed to show that the bat and ball did not make contact. Ashwin added that there appeared to be a significant gap between the batsman's bat and the ball in another decision made during the game.

"I own a car, a sedan, which I can park through the gap between the bat and ball. It’s clear it was not out. But this is not the first time. My father was watching the match with me. And he told me, ‘whenever Paul Reiffel comes, India will not win.’ Even Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain said the umpires could have acted a bit firmer with players taking time," Ashwin further stated.

On Day 5, it was KL Rahul’s dismissal that drew strong reactions from Gavaskar. Initially given not out after being struck on the pad by Ben Stokes, Rahul was seen trying to defend the delivery, but his bat got trapped behind his front pad. Stokes was visibly confident he'd got his man, and the DRS confirmed his instinct — the ball was crashing into middle stump.

Gavaskar disagreed with the ball's trajectory as displayed by the DRS. "Surprisingly, this one didn't bounce that much. When Indian bowlers were bowling balls were going above the stump mostly in reviews," Gavaskar said on-air.

His fellow analyst, Michael Vaughan, attempted to defuse the tension. "I am questioning the technology,” Gavaskar then said.

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