Ruturaj Gaikwad took offence to an umpiring call in the course of the Ranji Trophy match between Maharashtra and Services being played in Pune. It was during the Day 2 of the Elite Group A match that Gaikwad called out for a decision that led to the ouster of the captain of Maharashtra, Ankit Bawne, and was unpleased with it.
Maharashtra was struck by a few early blows after they opted to chase Services’ first innings total of 293 all out at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday. Fighting back with a battling half-century was Bawne, who waged a lone battle as wickets fell at the other end.
Maharashtra at one point was 63/3 but managed to get 137/3 before the fall of Azim Kazi (19) brought another collapse as they were bowled out for 185 thus giving away a lead of 108 runs to Services.
Bawne was once again the top scorer in this innings with 73 off 104 but the manner in which he was out was rather contentious. The fill-in captain obtained an edge off a delivery from the left-arm spinner Amit Shukla, who was fielding at second slip, and the catch was taken by Shubham Rohilla, but that was before any celebrations commenced from the Services’ side.
FC camera and replays showed that the ball must have hit the ground before being grabbed by Rohilla, a fact even the commentator on-air acknowledged. Instead, after a quick huddle with the on-field umpires, it was given out by the match referees.
“Right away, I thought it looked short. The catch has been taken after the ball lipped and before the second fielder caught it. They are appealing for a catch and the umpire gives him out” the commentator stated
Gaikwad lashed out at both the officiating officials as well as the players.
“How on earth can this be given out in a live action???Huh???,”he wrote captioning the video of the particular incident on his Instagram story and went on to add, “Such an appeal for a catch is a disgrace!”
He also called the sequence of events as “Absolutely pathetic”.
At present, Gaikwad is in Australia to play a two-match unofficial test series. He is heading an ‘India A’ team which is currently playing a second match against ‘Australia A’ at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The 27-year-old blinked a duck and muted five runs in the two innings of the first match held in Mackay, which Australia A won by seven wickets as he opened the batting line up. With KL Rahul coming into the second match, Gaikwad was slotted in to bat at number four position but yet again succumbed to another low score and was out for four.
