'Little harsh on India?' - Brad Hogg questions controversial DRS call in Edgbaston Test

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has questioned a controversial DRS call, which went against India, on day four of the ongoing fifth rescheduled Test match against England at Edgbaston. India asked for a review after the umpire denied their appeal for an lbw on Mohammed Shami’s delivery to Joe Root. The DRS call came in favour of England who were struggling at 132/3 with Root playing on just 12 runs. The former captain went on to score an unbeaten fifty to put his side ahead of India at the end of day four.

The replay showed the bat being almost in contact with the pad when the ball passed by it and landed on the pad. There was a clear spike when the ball touched the bat/pad, and it was not conclusive to rule out the inside edge. But the third umpire seemed okay with their verdict of ‘bat not involved’ and asked on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough to stick to their original decision. For India, it wouldn’t have mattered as the ball seemed to be projected over the stumps anyway.

I felt umpires call at least: Brad Hogg

Fans and cricket experts have been vocal about umpires’ controversial decisions regarding Ravindra Jadeja’s catch by Root and Matthew Potts’s catch by Shreyas Iyer before. Meanwhile, Hogg said that it should have been the umpire’s call at least as India had lost their previous review for the same lbw decision against Root earlier. “Small pads, Shami skiddy bowler, front foot not fully on tippy-toes, was the DRS technology a little harsh on India? I felt umpires call at least, thus India would have kept the review,” Brad Hogg tweeted.

Small pads, Shami skiddy bowler, front foot not fully on tippy toes, was the DRS technology a little harsh on India?
I felt umpires call at least, thus India would have kept the review. #INDvsENG pic.twitter.com/6y7RaCQHEE

— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) July 5, 2022

On the next ball, Root smashed the four on the legside and eventually remained unbeaten on 76 at the end of Day 4. Jonny Bairstow continued his brilliant form with another fifty and remained unbeaten on 72 runs off 87 balls. England need 119 runs to win on day five with seven wickets remaining.