Dale Steyn, Sanjay Manjrekar speak on Rahul Tripathi’s catch that the third umpire deemed illegitimate

Former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn reckoned that Rahul Tripathi’s catch in the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings in Dubai on Friday was a clean one. The veteran, who retired from all forms of cricket back in August, said that after the real-time footage was aired, he felt that the fielder had his hands underneath the ball.

In the 19th over of the Kings’ run-chase, KL Rahul went for a heave on the leg side off Shivam Mavi, but couldn’t time the ball properly. Tripathi dived on to his front and thought that he had taken the catch cleanly, but third umpire, Anil Dandekar, felt otherwise and gave the decision in the batter’s favour

Steyn was clear-cut in saying that slowing the footage down confused the umpire to a certain extent and Mavi was denied the wicket.

I thought it was a clean catch, says Dale Steyn

“When they were showing it like a replay, they slowed it down and I saw the ball press on the floor and I thought that’s not out. Then I watched it in real time and he looked like he had it as he picked up his hand.

“When you slow things down long enough, you start finding things that are actually not there. I’m going with ‘Out’. I thought it was a clean catch and he had his hands under the ball,” Steyn told ESPNcricinfo.

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar was also critical for the reason that a real-time replay wasn’t used to judge the legitimacy of the catch. He echoed Steyn’s words, saying that slowing down the replays didn’t make things clear.

“I’ve said this many times on various platforms and I’m amazed they haven’t looked into this matter. When it comes to low catches, especially in the deep, the third umpire has to insist on having a look at a real time replay.

“Then you get a clear idea of whether the catch is clean or not. When you slow things down, the whole things become complicated,” Manjrekar said.

After the game, former cricketers Gautam Gambhir and Graeme Swann also lashed out at the third umpire for not making the correct decision at a crucial stage of the game.