WATCH: Rassie van der Dussen unfairly given out after Rishabh Pant grasses catch
South African batter Rassie van der Dussen was sold down the river after a howler on Day 2 of the New Year’s Test in Johannesburg against India. Dussen was given out caught behind by the standing umpire despite wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant making a foul grab.
Inspite of the ball just bouncing before Pant’s wicketkeeping gloves, the dismissal was upheld as the Proteas batter kept walking and the teams went for the lunch interval. It is only as Rassie van der Dussen had reached past the boundary ropes that the replays confirmed that he was actually not out.
The commentators also spotted the error in Pant’s take and called out the on-field decision immediately. But by then the train had left and Russen was declared out, as he opted not to review the decision via DRS.
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Rassie van der Dussen was done in by a foul catch and incorrect decision.
Rassie van der Dussen given out despite Rishabh Pant’s foul grab
The incident is from the back end of the morning session on Day 2 of the second Test of the Gandhi-Mandela Trophy. Off the fourth ball of the 45th over in the South African first innings, Indian pacer Shardul Thakur got Rassie van der Dussen cramping for room with a sharp incoming ball that took the edge, hit the batter’s pads and lobbed up at a slowish pace towards Pant.
Seeing the ball arrive, Pant made a forward dive. But by the time he reached near the ball, it had just bounced on the turf before finishing within his gloves.
Usually, in such instances, the two umpires wait, check a replay before making a final call with the soft signal used as per practice. However, here the on-field umpire gave Dussen out and he kept walking without ever really deliberating upon the option for DRS.
— Ves (@Ves84442098) January 4, 2022
The two teams took the long walk to the shed as the lunch was taken two balls early. But replays confirmed that Rassie van der Dussen was not out.
As it happens these days, the controversial incident triggered debates all over social media as fans gave their views on the matter. Some wondered if India can take their appeal back while the lunch is going on and made paralleled with MS Dhoni-Ian Bell incident during the 2011 Trent Bridge Test.
But back in the day, Bell was actually out by the law, it’s just that Dhoni decided to revert the appeal considering that Bell was unsighted by the fielders’ casual attempt at throwing the ball back after assuming that it had touched the ropes.
Here Dussen is not out by the law but there is a grey area involved.
The buzz is that Dean Elgar and South Africa's manager are in the umpire's room right now. No points for guessing what the topic of discussion is. #SAvIND
— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) January 4, 2022
If the umpire decides against reverting his call, South Africa enter the post-lunch session 4 down with 102 runs on the board, trailing India by another 100 runs on a track where it is shaping up to be another close Test match as the series hangs in the balance.
As it happened, the umpires decided not to recall Dussen to the crease after, as told on the commentary, finding no conclusive evidence to overturn the decision taken by the on-field umpire. A shocking move for a lot of the fans, who found the ball bouncing just before it was collected by Pant.