Mumbai, Nov 3 India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday waded into the controversial dismissal of Rishabh Pant in the second innings of the third Test in which the third umpire overturned a decision by the on-field umpire without conclusive evidence.
Pant was batting superbly and raced to 64 as India chased a 147 to win the third Test and salvage some pride. The wicketkeeper batter, who had rescued the side from 29/5 and taken them past 100 runs, was ruled out by the third umpire after the on-field umpire Richard Illingworth ruled that the ball had come off the pad and there was no bat involved.
Pant also approached the umpires, asserting no bat contact. The third umpire, though, overturned the on-field umpire’s call and decided to give the decision in New Zealand's favour.
"About that decision, I honestly, I don't know. If we say something, it is not accepted well, but if there is inclusive evidence, it has to stand with the on-field umpire's decision. That is what I've been told.
"So, I don't know how that decision was overturned since the umpire didn't give him out. You know, the bat was clearly close to the pad. So again, I don't know if it's the right thing for me to talk about. It is something for the umpires to think about; have the same rules for every team; not keep changing their mind," said Rohit in the post-match press conference on Sunday.
He said it was a very crucial dismissal from India's point of view and Pant, it looked like he would take India all the way to the target.
"But again, that dismissal actually was very, very crucial from our point of view. (He was) Really looking good at that point and it felt like he would take us through. But it was an unfortunate dismissal, got out and then we were bowled out after that," said the India captain.
From a disastrous 29/5, Pant took India to 92/6 at lunch on Day 3 as India chased 147 runs.
Pant kept the Indian hopes alive with a majestic innings, mixing aggression with caution as he and Ravindra Jadeja added 42 runs for the sixth wicket.
After Jadeja was out, Pant and Washington Sundar took the score past the 100-run mark before he was given out controversially, with India needing 41 runs to win the match and avoid a whitewash.
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