Irani Trophy | Twitter erupts as Sarfaraz's injury takes unexpected twist with Gaikwad's obstructing-the-field appeal

Arijit Kundu

ByArijit Kundu, SportsCafe Editor

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When was the last time an injury, an appeal for a rare form of dismissal, and a controversial TV umpire verdict took center stage on the same ball in a cricket contest? All these events took place in a matter of moments during the dying moments of the fourth day in the ongoing Irani Trophy clash.

On the back of Abhimanyu Easwaran’s 191 and Dhruv Jurel’s 93, the Rest of India unit stockpiled 416 runs in the first innings. With 121 runs lead in hand, the Mumbai side got off to a confident start, courtesy of some ravishing strokes from opener Prithvi Shaw. Despite losing out on partners during the third session, he flourished with a 76 runs knock before Sarfaraz Khan and Tanush Kotian joined hands at the cue end of the day’s play. With the game running smooth, the former was a part of an unprecedented drama revolving around an injury and ‘obstructing the field’ appeal from the opposition.

Having already scalped four important wickets in the innings, Saransh Jain was in the middle of a long toil when Tanush Kotian drove a fuller loopy delivery outside the stumps towards deep cover. Prasidh Krishna from the deep sprinted in and made a throw towards the keeper’s end with Sarfaraz from the non-striker suddenly changing his course for a run and taking a blow at the spine. Immediately, the Mumbai batter was seen clutching his back in agony and laid down the physio strolling into the field. From the opposition side, Ishan Kishan went near Sarfaraz and teased him by grabbing his chin while the batter lay down in pain. 

Amidst all this play, Rest of India captain Ruturaj opted for a TV umpire’s referral for obstructing the field. The man behind the screen, Abhijit Bengari had a look at it closely and decided to go against the Ruturaj-led side as he felt the batter’s act was non-deliberate and he was already in the crease when the ball hit him. However, the verdict of Not Out didn’t quite please Ruturaj, who was seen in a long conversation with onfield umpire Saiyed Khalid. On the flip side, Sarfaraz was seen hovering around claiming his act as reluctant, sparking further drama and a delayed play. The Twitterverse found it an interesting phase in the play and had their own views on the act.

Wait but why???

That would have hurt a bit!

Yeah!

Ah?

Really??

It is on top!

Nope! He was in already!

Sending!

Oh!

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