Ranji Trophy 2018-19: Saurashtra's Cheteshwar Pujara refuses to walk after nicking the ball against Karnataka

The knockout matches are currently in progress in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. While Vidarbha have already qualified for the final of the tournament, Saurashtra and Karnataka are fighting it out at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The game has been marred by controversy as the Saurashtra batsman Cheteshwar Pujara refused to walk despite edging the ball on the second day of the game.

The incident happened in the 23rd over of Saurashtra’s innings when Pujara was batting at 1 run. Abhimanyu Mithun was making the ball talk with the pitch assisting the fast bowlers. He came steaming in even as the batsman got into his strides and the delivered ball pitched just short of a good length area. Pujara, as he usually does, prodded forward to defend, but the red cherry moved just enough and also bounced to surprise Pujara.

On its way to the wicketkeeper, the ball took the edge of the bat and after catching it, Karnataka players were cock-a-hoop. They started celebrating wildly as Cheteshwar Pujara was a huge wicket. But they were unaware of the proceedings at the other end. The batsman didn’t walk as the umpire didn’t raise his finger.

Pandey and Nair express their unhappiness

Karnataka team was shocked with the umpire’s verdict. They were expectedly aggressive in questioning the decision as the edge was clearly heard. But the on-field umpire suggested them stay calm and get on with the game. The players like Karun Nair and Manish Pandey were furious with the fact that Cheteshwar Pujara, the player of his stature, didn’t walk. They questioned him as well but Pujara was unmoved and was getting ready for the next ball.

Here’s the video:

Meanwhile, Pujara has continued to bat well after the left-off and is unbeaten on 28 off 80 balls. Saurashtra are currently 137/3 in response to Karnataka’s 275 runs in the first innings. With a fair amount of batting to come, the visitors are looking the favourites to take the lead and then they can boss the game as well.

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