Watch: Rishabh Pant trudges back to pavilion after controversial DRS dismissal

India keeper-batter Rishabh Pant once again had a stunning outing with the bat in the second innings of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. The top order collapsed again and the onus fell on the middle order. Pant was the only one who managed to keep going and put pressure on the Kiwis as India had a target of 147 runs at Wankhede Stadium.

Despite the hosts being under immense pressure, Pant played an aggressive brand of cricket, making 64 off 57 before Ajaz Patel got the better of him. However, the dismissal was not a usual one as it involved controversy surrounding the technology. Notably, the 27-year-old danced down the track but failed to time the ball as keeper Tom Blundell got hold of the ball and appealed for a caught behind.

Pant was convinced that it didn’t hit the bat and the umpire Richard Illingworth was unmoved. However, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham decided to review the call. Notably, the UltraEdge showed a spike when the ball was close to the bat, which led the third umpire Paul Reiffel to rule the batter out. 

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Pant tried to explain to the on-field umpire that the spike was due to the bat hitting his pad and not the ba. However, the final decision was made and Pant had to walk back extremely disappointed with India being reduced to 106/7.

Meanwhile, questions will be raised about the Indian top order’s failure to deal with spin. The senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had a difficult series and will be under pressure to perform well in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series, slated to begin on November 22.