Twitterati slam Australian keeper Alex Carey after appealing for hit-wicket

The first T20I between Australia and India at the Gabba, Brisbane, on Wednesday went down to the wire and eventually it was the hosts who prevailed over Virat Kohli’s men by just four runs. India were given a target of 174 to be chased in 17 overs by the DLS Method after rain interrupted during the first innings. Opener Shikhar Dhawan’s 42-ball 76 and Dinesh Karthik late-innings rush (30 off 13 ball) took the visitors within a striking distance of victory but they lost.

The match saw quite a few high performances from both the batters and bowlers but there was also a moment of controversy which set the social media abuzz. It was the ‘hit wicket’ instance in the ninth over of India’s innings which saw the Aussie wicket-keeper Alex Carey facing a backlash.

Did Carey deliberately dislodge the bails?

It so happened in the first delivery of the over which spinner Adam Zampa was bowling. The ball was hit on the offside by KL Rahul and it was seen that one of the bails lit up and fell down. The first impression was that the batsman hit the stumps and the fielding side claimed his dismissal. The Australian wicket-keeper looked unsure of the actual thing.

The matter was hence referred to the third umpire. In the replay it was seen that Rahul’s bat or backfoot was nowhere near the stumps and the bails were dislodged by the touch of the wicket-keeper’s gloves. The ball was deemed illegal as the umpire called it a no-ball and Rahul took a couple in the free hit that followed next. However, the Australians had the last laugh in the very next ball as Alex Carey stumped Rahul out and the decision was confirmed by the third umpire.

The Twitterati was, however, furious with the ‘hit wicket’ controversy and came out blasting Carey, who made his international debut this year itself, even calling him a “cheat”. They also criticised Australia, a side which of late has come under heavy criticism over matters related to ethical conduct on the field.

Here are some of the reactions that the Twitterati came up over Carey’s act:

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