'He was forced...': Sunil Gavaskar slams Rohit Sharma for squandering DRS prompted by Ravindra Jadeja

During the commentary in the fourth Test between India and England, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar criticised India captain Rohit Sharma for wasting team's final review on England's wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes, who was caught in front of the wicket by Ravindra Jadeja. India had already used two of their Decision Review System (DRS) attempts, hoping to remove Joe Root, who scored his first century of the series.

Root and Foakes managed to avoid any dismissals from lunch to tea, highlighting India's regret over their hasty use of all three reviews in the first 60 overs. The initial two attempts to claim Root's wicket were unsuccessful, with the last review being unwisely used on Foakes shortly after the second session.

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Jadeja forced Rohit Sharma to take DRS

Under Ravindra Jadeja's pressure, England's wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes found himself playing defensively, leading to a strong appeal from the Indian side. Despite the umpire rejecting the appeal, a discussion between Rohit Sharma and his teammates ensued, culminating in the decision to challenge the call using the Decision Review System (DRS).

The review showed that although the ball had pitched in line and hit the batsman in line, it was deviating towards the leg side, missing the stumps by a narrow margin.

As the crowd awaited the decision, the stadium's screens repeatedly focused on Rohit's expressions, escalating the captain's irritation. In a moment of frustration, Rohit gestured towards the screens, urging the operators to concentrate on the DRS outcome instead of his reactions, echoing a similar incident from the previous year's Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Gavaskar lashes out at Rohit for wasting DRS 

Sunil Gavaskar, who was commentating at the time, suggested that Rohit was reluctantly persuaded to use the review on Foakes, hinting at his initial reluctance to risk another DRS challenge.

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“Not the best of referrals. Rohit wasn’t keen. It was pretty much like he was forced into it. There was just a hint of turn, the batter would have been in trouble but the ball went straight through. Didn’t even hit the back pad; just hit the front pad.”

“All reviews are lost now. Bowlers do get excited; I can understand. They want a wicket, but they have got to realize where it was that the ball hit,”Gavaskar told Jio Cinema.

 

Supporting Sunil Gavaskar's perspective on the DRS decision, Nick Knight, who shares the commentary box with Gavaskar and is a former England cricketer, echoed a similar sentiment. He specifically pointed out Ravindra Jadeja's excessive enthusiasm in appealing, which he believes pressured Rohit Sharma into opting for the review. Knight remarked that the DRS evidence was unconvincing, suggesting that there was little justification for escalating the decision for further review.

 

“It was an emotional review from Jadeja who was pleading with Rohit to go upstairs. But I am with you; this did not look convincing. This is significant because they now have no reviews and England have three,” he said. 

 

Ending the first day, England concluded their innings at 302 for the loss of 7 wickets, with Joe Root and Ollie Robinson solidly holding their ground at the crease.

 

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England, who are trailing the five-match series 1-2, got off to a shaky start and found themselves clueless in negotiating India's debutant Akash Deep's bowling. Akash Deep ripped through the England's top order. Akash removed visitors' top three batters, Zak Crawley (42), Ben Duckett (11) and Ollie Pope (0) and left them teetering at 57/3. Then Joe Root came to England's rescue and kept the scoreboard running. However, England's misery didn't end there as they lost two more wickets in quick succession in Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes which left the Three Lions reeling at 112/5. Root then combined with Ben Foakes and stitched a solid 113-run partnership to take England to 225 before their wicketkeeper fell to Mohammed Siraj after scoring a patient 47 off 126. But undeterred by India's sharp bowling Root kept going and ultimately notched his 31st Test century to announce his comeback and took England to a respectable 302/7.

 

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