Having posted 101 for two at Stumps on Day 3, South Africa have put themselves in a strong position against India in the ongoing third Test match in Cape Town. Both sides are currently battling it out with the hosts having been set a target of 212 runs. Other than action-packed drama, the match also hasn’t been short of controversy with Virat Kohli in the middle of it all in the final session on Day 3. The incident happened on the fourth ball of the 21st over, when Dean Elgar saw a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery hit him in front of middle stump and just below the knee roll. Umpire Marais Erasmus adjudged gave Elgar out LBW but the Proteas captain went for the DRS review, which shockingly ruled that the ball was going over the stumps. The decision shocked everyone in the field, especially Kohli, who could be seen expressing his anger over the stump mic. Speaking on India’s reaction, former Proteas pacer Morne Morkel felt that they should have kept their “emotions in control” as a “lot of young people” were watching the match. Meanwhile, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra lashed out at the visitors and said that “umpires are sacrosanct”.
“I think it’s very important, you know when you want to win the series, to keep your emotions in control. It’s obviously not great to see, you know obviously there are a lot of young people watching the Test match and series,” said Morkel on Star Sports.
“Yeah, I just felt we have to back-up as to what’s happening on the screen and this is not a great look.”
The incident also had a huge impact on India’s morale as they conceded 35 runs in the next six overs.
Chopra agreed with his colleague and stated that shouting over the stump mic could “come back to bite” India.
“There are perils of bumping up the stump mic. You are breaking down the fourth wall, sounds very good but sometimes it comes back to bite you. Because, you have the right to voice your dissent but is that the right manner? I’m not 100 per cent certain because as Morne said there are lots and lots of kids watching this game and they may actually form an opinion about this game, DRS, umpires”, he said.
“In this game, umpires are sacrosanct. That’s why they are umpires and not referees. This is the only game that has umpires”, he further added.
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Despite the overturned decision, Elgar eventually lost his wicket in the 30th over to Jasprit Bumrah. Keegan Petersen remained unbeaten and is edging close to a half-century. He registered 48 runs off 61 balls on Day 3.
He will resume batting on Day 4 and will be hoping to carry on with his fine form.
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