India captain Rohit Sharma was truly ecstatic as the team removed dangerman Zak Crawley on Day 4 of the second Test against England. Crawley emerged as the most threatening English batsman on the day, scoring 73 runs before being dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav. His breakthrough came just before the end of the first session in Vizag on Monday, but it was not easy. While the umpire rejected Team India's appeal, Kuldeep convinced skipper Rohit to allow a review to take place.
On the sixth ball of his first over, Kuldeep got one coming back from the middle stump. It looked like the ball was going down the leg, but DRS showed a different trajectory. Rohit, who has had some animated conversations with Kuldeep when it comes to DRS calls in this Test, agreed to go for a review and was rewarded.
Crawley had no reply to a Kuldeep delivery that stayed low and hit him on the pads. After much deliberation, India went for the assessment and was rewarded. Here's the video:
Review…..successful!
Kuldeep Yadav picks up the big wicket of Crawley to retain #TeamIndia on the driver's seat #BazBowled #IDFCFirstBankTestsSeries #JioCinemaSports#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/c4hMunPVSP
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 5, 2024
And they say Rohit is showing no energy #RohitSharma #IndvsENGpic.twitter.com/afNhZ7KC6g
— Daily dose of Hitman!!(@PureRohitian45) February 5, 2024
However, the review sparked a huge debate on social media as fans suggested it didn't look like Crawley should have been spread with the naked eye.
Kuldeep Yadav appeared to say “bahut seedha hai” to Rohit, trying to convince him for the DRS.
I honestly thought it was just off pitching, but Kuldeep clearly knew what he was doing.
— Mayank (@freehit_mj) February 5, 2024
Huge wicket with Crawley sent back for lunch!
A brave DRS call from Rohit and the luck goes in India's favor for a change! Incredible!#INDvENG
— Nish Navalkar (@YUVI_NISH) February 5, 2024
https://t.co/7EK7KLkSeO pic.twitter.com/KTeHRCaZ6j
— sk (@v_k_1988) February 5, 2024
I strongly disagree with the LBW decision! The third tree stump was almost visible, hard to believe the impact lined up. Even the referee's call doesn't feel like a rigged DRS. #INDvENG #INDvsENG #McCullum #Stokes #Crawley #Rohit #RohitSharma #Bumrah #Kuldiep #Bairstow #To cheat https://t.co/wlNCmUd7Ik pic.twitter.com/II5As61Rgu
— Sheikh Rakeen (@rakeenteur) February 5, 2024
With six England batters out before the end of the first session, India took a giant step towards securing a series-levelling win in Visakhapatnam.
As expected, England did not hold back in attacking the Indian spinners who stuck around to make the timely breakthroughs. The visitors still managed to make 127 runs in the session but lost too many wickets.
Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Crawley (73) while Jasprit Bumrah put Jonny Bairstow (26) in front around lunchtime to deal a huge blow to England, who still need 205 runs for an unlikely victory.
Crawley was by far the best batsman on display, combining caution and aggression perfectly before being judged lbw off Kuldeep with a close DRS call.
With PTI inputs
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