Mohammed Shami, East Zone Warned By Umpires During Duleep Trophy Final. Here's The Details
Powered by a star-studded bowling line-up that includes India internationals Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar, East Zone reduced South Zone to 242/6 at stumps on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy final
Powered by a star-studded bowling line-up that includes India internationals Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar, East Zone reduced South Zone to 242/6 at stumps on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai. East Zone scored 708 in the first innings, and South Zone still trail by 466 runs. During the final session, Shami was warned by on-field umpire Virender Sharma. During the 60th over, the umpires asked Shami for the ball. It appeared that the umpires were inspecting the ball, possibly to change it after Shami requested them to take note of its condition. However, the umpires warned East Zone against using excessive sweat to shine the ball.
MCC Law 41.3 pertains to 'The match ball: changing its condition' and prohibits players from taking any action that alters the condition of the match ball unless specifically permitted by the law.
While the use of sweat is allowed, there is no law specifying excessive use of sweat. Law 41.3.1 states: "The umpires shall make frequent and irregular inspections of the ball. In addition, they shall immediately inspect the ball if they suspect anyone of attempting to change the condition of the ball, except as permitted in [Law 41.3.2]."
Both Shami and Mukesh took two wickets each as the Tilak Varma-led South Zone were restricted to 242/6 in their first innings and ended the day trailing by 466 runs. Devdutt Padikkal (62) and Tilak Varma (56*) scored half-centuries, but the South Zone batters will regret their dismissals, even though Tilak remains unbeaten and is the sole hope for an improbable comeback.
The South Zone batters showed poor shot selection, and the East Zone bowlers found some assistance even with the older ball, using reverse swing to trouble the batters. The South batters got starts but could not convert them into big scores, unlike the East Zone batters, especially Ishan Kishan, who scored 270.
Ricky Bhui was the first to be dismissed when he edged one behind for stand-in wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra to catch. East Zone vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi insisted on a review to overturn the umpire's not-out call on Bhui's caught-behind appeal, and the decision was later reversed on DRS.
Narayan Jagadeesan fell victim to poor shot selection, slicing Shikhar Mohan to point as South Zone went to lunch at 115/2. The East Zone bowlers continued to do a good job in the second session as well, and their seamers found reverse swing.
They kept the lid on the batters as Shami dismissed Shaik Rasheed for his first wicket. The Indian veteran pacer bowled in short spells and appeared to be troubled by a neck issue soon after lunch.
Padikkal brought up a well-made fifty but holed out to Mukesh Kumar at deep square leg. Sooryavanshi took over the captaincy briefly during the latter part of the second session while Ishan Kishan was off the field. He brought Shami back into the attack for a short spell, and the pacer dismissed Smaran Ravichandran, the highest run-scorer in the previous Ranji Trophy season. This time, Kushagra urged Sooryavanshi to review the decision after the umpire failed to detect the edge.
East Zone wrested further control in the third session, allowing South Zone to add only 62 runs in the final session, while Md Kounain Quraishi also got Shreyas Gopal caught and bowled. East Zone were the happier side at the end of the day, and despite Tilak remaining unbeaten, South Zone still have a mountain to climb.
Mohammed Shami
India Cricket Team