“Whole country playing against XI”: Controversy arises over a DRS call in South Africa

As India had the chance to win their first ever test series against South Africa, Virat Kohli and his boys faced a situation that is very rare in Cricket. So rare that the on-field umpires couldn’t really believe it.

The entire incident occurred in the 21st over of the match, when Ravichandran Ashwin came to bowl. The off-spinner tossed the bowl and the bowl dropped right in front of Elgar, which the South African captain missed and it struck Elgar’s pad. Umpire Marais Erasmus took no time and raised his finger to declare Elgar out. However, the Captain felt otherwise and he immediately asked the umpire to review his decision.

In the replay, it was shown that the ball was pitching in line, the impact was in line but the bowl was going over the stumps. Team India was not just shocked but furious to see what was going on. Captain and Vice-Captain Virat Kohli and KL Rahul along with the bowler Ravi Ashwin were even discussing a possible glitch or tampering of the technology.

As the players were close to the stumps, the audio was clear and the trio completely hit back at the broadcaster. Ravi Ashwin was not shy at all as the off-spinner went on to say. “You should find better ways to win Supersport (host broadcaster)”. Captain Virat Kohli went a step ahead as he said, “Focus on your team as well and not just the opposition, trying to catch people all the time”.

The vice-captain of the tour KL Rahul who doesn’t sledge much or express his emotions went up to that the “Whole Country playing against XI guys”. Thus, it can be said with absolute certainty that the team India was absolutely furious and still is. Elgar was later dismissed by Bumrah but the incident is something that the International Cricket Association should definitely keep an eye on. It was clear that the bowl would have hit the stumps but the sudden jump was something that no one saw coming.

South Africa lost two wickets for 101 runs and Keegan Petersen is currently batting at 48. On the fourth day of the match, team India will be looking for 8 wickets while the Proteas need only 111 runs to win this historic test. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will be extremely crucial for the Indian team but as things stand, South Africa is the favorites to win this test series.