Jack Leach, England’s spinner on Saturday said that the Decision Review System (DRS) replicated the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) on the first day of the second Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium. VAR created a lot of controversies in Football. A lot of Football veterans questioned if VAR was hampering the sports.
“We were trying to get the third umpire to roll it through, they were checking LBW, we knew that would have been not out, we were just trying to get them looking at what happened after the ball hit his pad. It is a bit like VAR today, still controversial, it is what it is,” Leach told during a virtual press conference after Day one.
“They said they were checking it, then the LBW picture came up, we were saying no, no. We wanted them to check the other one. I got the impression that they hadn’t checked it (the angle we wanted the umpires to check). There is nothing I can do about it, at that time, I was angry but to get Rahane’s wicket in the next over, made things little easier,” added Leach.
Leach questioned the DRS after Ajinkya Rahane survived a close DRS call on Day 1. After the on-field umpire did not dismiss Rahane who was caught at bat-pad, England went for a DRS. But third umpire Anil Chaudhury did not defy the on-field umpire.
“It was a hard-fought day, we had to be patient throughout the day, we got a couple of wickets towards the end and it was good, with the new ball hopefully tomorrow morning, we can get a couple of wickets quickly and get back. As you saw with Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, once you get a partnership going, it can get a little bit easier, we have to hope that we can do the same when we come to bat,” said Leach.
Chaudhury did not check a particular angle but by the time the angle was shown, Rahane was given not-out.
“Compared to the first wicket, we played on, I would say that the pitch is turning a bit more, the wicket seems a little bit drier and it is spinning. Rohit played a serious knock, he is obviously a world-class player, to see how he went about it, he batted well. I thought I bowled well today; I will reflect on my performance in the evening. I tried to be patient as much as I can. This is the best I have bowled; it was all based around being patient and allowing the pitch to do what it was doing. That was my plan,” he added.
After tottering in the post-lunch session, England made a come back in the last session bagging three crucial wickets. At the Stumps India are at 300/6.
