'How's it different from Steve Smith's brainfade moment?' - Aakash Chopra on Ravindra Jadeja's run-out controversy

The West Indies chased down a stiff total of 288 runs with ease at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the first ODI on Sunday. Twin centuries from Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer and the partnership of 218 runs for the second wicket between the duo helped secured a lead of 1-0 in the three-game series. Despite the tourists’ convincing victory, the opening game didn’t go by unscathed without any controversy.

In the 48th over of India’s innings, Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged run out by the on-field umpires. However, he was determined as out only after the opposing skipper Kieron Pollard’s request to the umpire to send it upstairs, purely based on the instructions from the officials outside the ground. Jadeja, who was initially believed to have made it safe, was found short of the crease after it went to the third umpire.

The Saurashtra all-rounder, at being given out on the grounds of such a bizarre chain of events left the Indian skipper Virat Kohli fuming. The 31-year old immediately got up from his chair, shook his head in disbelief before storming into the change room with rage.

Addressing the same incident, Virat Kohli conceded in the post-match presentation that the people outside the field who are watching it on TV cannot point it to the fielders to tell the umpires to review it again.

Aakash Chopra compares the incident by reiterating an infamous event from the past

Former Indian opening batsman Aakash Chopra who has now become a commentator took to Twitter to provide his perspective regarding the incident. He summed up the entire situation and raised a question of how Kieron Pollard’s urge to appeal based on the directions from the dressing room is different from that of Steve Smith’s glance at the dressing room to decide whether or not to take a review.

Backtracking to the incident that took place two years ago during Australia’s Test tour of 2017, former Australian captain and the then number one Test batsman Steve Smith was given out LBW in the second innings of the second Test in the four-match series. He went on to look up in the dressing room on the advice of Peter Handscomb, who stood at the non-striker’s end.

The Delhi batsman reported the incident to the on-field umpire Nigel Llong, who in turn warned him against asking the advice of his teammates in the dressing room. The episode provoked Virat Kohli to lash out at Smith in the post-match press conference by conceding that he had seen his team seeking advice from the dressing room on previous two occasions too.

Steve Smith remained firm on the fact that no line was crossed, but apologized by saying that it shouldn’t have happened and it was a “brain fade” on his part. As far as Jadeja’s run-out is concerned, Pollard felt that the right decision was made which is what matters the most.

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