Another day, another catch controversy for Australia. But this time, they found no luck from the umpires or third umpire. Sean Abbott took a brilliant catch on his own follow-through off Shreyas Iyer in the IND vs AUS 2nd ODI in Indore. While Iyer was walking back, the third umpire reviewed it and decided to give it not out, stirring another round of controversy.
Luckily for Australia and Sean Abbott, Shreyas Iyer departed two balls later after hitting a four. He scored an impressive 105 off 90 balls.
Out or Not Out?
It was on the 31st over when Sean Abbott bowled a loopy fulltoss to Shreyas Iyer. The right-hander tried to play it on the leg side but could only scoop it. Abbott did well to stop his follow-through and dived to take the catch brilliantly.
But where Sean Abbott went wrong was the ball grazed the surface. And as per rule, the catcher has to be in full control of the ball and the ball should not touch the ground when the catch is being taken.
At first glance, it looked like, Sean Abbott took the catch properly. But after several replays, third umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan decided that it was not out in favour of Shreyas Iyer.
Even KL Rahul was sure that it was out. And he was walking into bat. But halfway through to the crease, the umpires changed the decision and Shreyas Iyer was called back.
Fans divided
However, as with any controversy, the catch divided both fan bases. While some called it good decision from the umpire, some slammed it because Sean Abbott had complete control while taking the catch.
It invoked recent memories of catch controversies, all involving Australia.