Team India in action© AFP
The final match of Champions Trophy 2025 between India and New Zealand on Sunday had a disappointing moment for Rohit Sharma and co. Opting to bat first, the Blackcaps had a decent start with the openers scoring staying unbeaten till 8 overs. However, Indian bounced back in style and scalped three wickets in the next five overs, reducing New Zealand to 75/3 in 12.2 overs. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav took wickets while Varun Chakarvarthy took one. As India were aiming for their fourth breakthrough, they faced a huge blow.
In 22nd over, Rohit Sharma handed over the ball to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja as the Kiwis were steady in the game, courtesy of Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell’s partnership.
On the fourth delivery of the over, Jadeja struck on Latham’s pads and appealed for LBW. The on-field signalled not out and Rohit came and discussed with his teammates about the situation. While wicketkeeper KL Rahul was reluctant about taking a DRS, Jadeja convinced Rohit to use the review.
As India opted for the DRS, the third umpire showed that the ball was actually missing the stumps due to height and Latham remained not out. Hence, India ended up losing their DRS review.
Seeing this, commentators Ravi Shastri and Dinesh Karthik stated that Rohit should have listened to Rahul as he knew that the ball was going over the stumps.
“KL Rahul stays very balanced when the DRS call needs to be made. As expected, he got it bang on. But Rohit Sharma decided to listen to the bowler and went for the DRS,” said Dinesh Karthik.
On the other hand, Ravi Shastri said, “KL Rahul possibly indicated that the ball was going high. He has a bird’s-eye view of where the ball might be pitching.”
It is also worth noting that two overs after this incident, Jadeja dismissed Latham for 14. The Kiwi batter tried to play a sweep shot but Jadeja struck onto his pads and this time, the on-field umpire simply signaled LBW out.
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