India v England - Umpiring decisions add to tourists’ woe

The home side had the better of both days in Chennai to lead by 249 runs on a track which has drawn plenty of debate.

There has been elaborate turn in evidence from the first session, a pattern that should only be exaggerated as the game moves towards a conclusion.

But while England were bowled out for a modest 134, premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin leading the way with five wickets, India managed to post 329 in their first innings before closing on 54-1 second time around.

Thorpe, a noted player of spin in his 100-Test career, stopped short of openly criticising the pitch but left a heavy impression that the camp were less than impressed.

“It’s incredibly challenging for us, they’re obviously a very skilled spin attack in their own conditions,” he said.

“It’s a very challenging surface...that’s what I’m going to say. In terms of me commenting on the pitch, I think that’s for someone above me to look at.

“It’s obviously taken turn early in the game and it was a very good toss to win, to bat on day one.”

Pundits have taken more polarised views, with broadcaster Simon Hughes calling for India to be docked points in the World Test Championship, former England captain Michael Vaughan branding the surface “a stinker”, and Australia’s Mark Waugh deeming it “unacceptable”.

What everyone can agree on is the scale of England’s challenge.

“It’s going to be tough. We need something very, very special to happen,” accepted Thorpe.

“We need somebody to do something amazing with the bat. We need to keep level in the dressing room and not get too down. We know the pitch has challenged us and we look forward to the challenge of the next innings.”

Ashwin, who unpicked the England batting line-up with figures of 5-43, was unmoved by critiques of the pitch.

“I do not know if they (have) complaints, but if they have then it is completely natural to come up against adverse conditions,” he said.

“Time and again there are conditions which will challenge you, be it spin or seam. Clearly the challenges are greater when you come up against seam.

“It’s just the way you play spin, you have to give time and 
then cash in, it is another form of art.”

Another source of frustration for England has been the umpiring, with two dubious pieces of decision-making by third umpire Anil Chaudhary on day one followed up with another contested verdict on day two.

England were sure Rohit Sharma offered no shot when padding up to Moeen Ali late on and referred an lbw appeal to DRS. Chaudhary dismissed the shout when the impact was shown to be outside off stump, relying on the assumption that Rohit’s well-hidden bat was actually playing a stroke.

“It’s obviously a canny bit of play,” said Thorpe with a smile.

“The umpire has to make that decision at the time whether he thinks the player has played a shot at the ball and you have to accept it.”

And on day one, England spinner Jack Leach claimed Test cricket had experienced its own “VAR” moment after being involved in two controversial umpiring decisions.

Leach thought he had centurion Rohit Sharma stumped and Ajinkya Rahane caught at short-leg during his spell in the evening session, but saw both appeals waved away.

Ben Foakes’ sharp glovework went unrewarded when third umpire Anil Chaudhary made an unusually swift decision in Rohit’s favour, despite no obvious sign that the batsman had anything behind the line.

While that was at least a tight call, there was a clear error in reprieving Rahane after he was caught by Ollie Pope via pad and glove. England used a DRS referral to contest Nitin Menon’s ‘not out’ verdict, but were perplexed to see Chaudhary uphold it without having viewed the relevant footage.

Root indulged in an impromptu game of charades as he attempted to demonstrate what England were hoping to check, but there was an apparent breakdown in communication as play resumed without the necessary frame being studied.

“It’s a bit like VAR, still controversial even though you’ve got the video there,” said Leach, in reference to football’s own flawed relationship with technology.

“There’s nothing I can do. At the time I was a little bit angry, but getting a wicket the next over makes it a little bit easier and it’s not cost us too much.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive membiers-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.