Marais Erasmus pulls up Tim Paine for using negative tactics against Rishabh Pant

It was a hard-fought day once again at the MCG for both sides, but Pat Cummins managed to burst the bubble of joy temporarily for the Indians with a gritty knock. Skipper Tim Paine would be hoping for the rain predictions for tomorrow to come true, which currently is the only way to escape the inevitable result.

Tim Paine and Rishabh Pant once again were on the spotlight for their verbal banter, which till now has been going in an entertaining and healthy manner. Following up the Australian skipper’s “Baby sitter” comment, the Indian wicket-keeper called Paine a “Temporary captain who only does the talking.”

There was another incident during India’s innings earlier on Day 4 when Rishabh Pant was smashing them to all sides. In the 35th over, Pant was on strike for the last ball and it seemed like the Aussies had deliberately bowled down the leg to keep Ravindra Jadeja on strike for the next over.

Marais Erasmus takes action

The on-field umpire Marais Erasmus was quick to pounce and adjudged a wide, which came in as a surprise for the Australians. Even the commentators had noticed Tim Paine’s position was slightly towards the leg-side, which made the intention quite obvious. “If he had bowled a ball down leg and then you had then dived, I would not have deemed it to be deliberate,” Erasmus told Paine.

Test Match Playing Conditions law 2.2.1.4  as it states, “For bowlers whom umpires consider to be bowling down the leg side as a negative tactic, the strict limited over Wide interpretation shall be applied.” The South African onfield official deemed it a wide owing to this law and warned the 34-year-old.

India didn’t bat for long after that incident as they declared the innings at 106/8, setting up a massive 399-run target for the hosts. Despite losing eight wickets, a late fightback from Nathan Lyon and Australia’s only half-centurion of the match Pat Cummins forced the play into Day 5.

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