'How on earth was it hitting': Fans slam DRS review after Mayank Agarwal's suspect dismissal in 1st Test against SA
South Africa were able to break the 117-run opening stand and a visibly unhappy Mayank made his way back after the review.
A dubious decision led to the interruption in a steady opening partnership stitched by Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion. Mayank, batting on 60, was trapped by Lungi Ngidi with a delivery that nipped back in and struck on the pads.
_1640521919255_1640521928716.jpg "Mayank Agarwal(Twitter)")
The ball-tracking showed that it was crashing into the top of the off-stump but the umpire's call was not taken into consideration, which irked many of the Indian fans who even felt that it was going down the leg side. South Africa were able to break the 117-run opening stand and a visibly unhappy Mayank made his way back after the review.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the next man in but his stay at the crease was short-lived. The experienced batter recorded a golden duck, leaving India 117 for two in no time. Rahul, on the other end, notched up his 13th Test half-century to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Earlier, Rahul and Mayank added 83 for the opening wicket to put India in a commanding position at lunch. The opposition bowling attack failed to get an early breakthrough, with the Karnataka duo looking solid to shrug off threats. Rahul and Mayank became the third Indian opening pair in Indian Test history to stitch a 100-run stand in a match in South Africa, joining the likes of Wasim Jaffer & Dinesh Karthik and Gautam Gambhir & Virender Sehwag.
Mayank had returned to the Indian Test setup against New Zealand. Making the most of the chance, he ended a two-year wait for a Test hundred and scored 150 & 62 in both innings at the Wankhede stadium. The 30-year-old batter up an impressive display of grit, the right-hander notched up his fourth Test hundred after going through a barren patch.
Interestingly, Mayank wasn't the first-choice opener for India in the ongoing Test series but an injury to vice-captain Rohit Sharma drafted him at the top. Rohit was ruled out of the series owing to a hamstring injury he had picked up. Priyank Panchal was named as his replacement player.
Upset with the technology being used for LBW decisions, some fans called Mayank's dismissal “fishy” and questioned the height factor.
Here's how fans reacted to Mayank's dismissal in the 1st Test against SA:
