England spinner Jack Leach, who found himself on the receiving end of a third refereeing error on the opening day of the second Test against India, compared the DRS to soccer’s video assistant referee (VAR), saying that “is still controversial.”
England were frustrated on Saturday and their captain Joe Root was upset after an error by Anil Chaudhary denied entry to India’s vice captain Ajinkya Rahane after a DRS review.
“We were trying to get the third referee to pass, they were checking the LBW, we knew he would not have been eliminated. We were just trying to get you to see what happened after the ball hit the platform.
“It’s a bit like today’s VAR, still controversial, (but) it is what it is,” Leach told reporters at the end of game day here.
The Decision Review System (DRS) referral, which they had lost after the third referee declared that Rahane was not out, was later restored to England under ICC conditions of play.
Leach added: “They said they were checking it, then the LBW picture came out, we said no, no. We wanted to check the other one. It gave me the impression that it had not been checked.
“There’s nothing I can do about it, at the time I was angry, but putting the window on Rahane in the next step made things easier.”
The incident took place on the 75th of the day when a Leach delivery kissed Rahane’s gloves on the way to short-legged forward Ollie Pope.
When England called for a catch without gloves, the outfield referee rejected it before Chaudhary also rejected the review thinking that the ball had landed outside the leg stump and that the visitors had appealed for an LBW.
However, the visitors seemed to clarify that they were appealing for a catch of the glove and not the bat.
Watching the replays on the big screen, Root was unimpressed and the captain also raised the matter with the referees on the field. Chaudhary also rejected that.
However, Rahane was fired by Moeen Ali before he could take advantage of the life preserver.
On the hard-hitting decision against Rohit Sharma, which wasn’t in his favor either, Leach said it was a tap and go.
“Well Ben (Foakes) didn’t say it definitely came out, he wasn’t sure about that. And then, when we saw, we had hope… It was a touch and go, ”he said.
When asked about his thoughts on how the day unfolded, Leach said it was a difficult outing, but he felt they were still in the game.
“It was a very close day, we had to be patient at all times. We got a couple of windows towards the end and it was good. With the new ball tomorrow morning, we can get a few wickets quickly and head back.
“As you saw with Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, once a partnership is established, it can be a little easier, we have to hope that we can do the same when we get to hit.”
On his own performance for the day, he said that he pitched well and that the field was turning a bit more compared to the first test.
“I’d say the field is spinning a bit more, the wicket seems a little drier and it’s spinning. I thought I played well today. I tried to be patient as much as I could.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever thrown, it was all based on being patient and allowing the field to do what it was doing. That was my plan, ”Leach said.
When asked about Centurion Rohit Sharma, whose superb 161 shot led India to 300 for six on stumps, the England spinner said he played a serious shot.
“Rohit played a serious blow. He’s obviously a world-class player, to see how he did it, he obviously hit well, ”he said of the Indian starter performance.
When asked if England would need to change their approach to hitting, he said they had adapted very well to different surfaces.
“I think in the last three games we have been able to adapt quite well. In Sri Lanka, we play on rotating grounds and I think the guys have adapted very well to different surfaces. I firmly believe that we can also do that here, ”he added.
With viewers allowed for this test, Leach said it was very special to have the fans back.
“It was very special to have the fans back,” he added.
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