A controversial DRS call that gave Royal Challengers Bangalore's Devdutt Padikkal a second life during their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 clash against Punjab Kings in Sharjah on Sunday has sparked outrage among cricket fans and pundits on Twitter. The incident took place during the eighth over of RCB's innings against PBKS with Ravi Bishnoi bowling to Padikkal. As Padikkal tried to reverse sweep a delivery, he failed to make a proper connection with the ball and wicketkeeper and PBKS captain KL Rahul promptly caught the ball. Both Bishnoi and Rahul appealed vigorously, convinced that Padikkal had nicked the delivery.
On their appeal being turned down by the on-field umpire, Rahul opted for a review through DRS.
Replays showed a spike while the ball was going past Padikkal's glove but TV umpire K Srinivasan didn't seem convinced as he gave the batsman a clean chit.
The 'not out' decision didn't go down well with Rahul, who had a discussion with umpire Ananthapadmanabhan.
Fans and pundits weren't pleased either, with former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris reserving a few harsh words for the TV umpire.
"Sack the 3rd umpire immediately," Styris tweeted. "What a joke!"
"How was that Not Out???" former India opener Aakash Chopra wondered in a tweet.
Punjab Kings' official Twitter account also expressed surprise over the decision. "Whaaaaaaaaaat? Ultra Edge showed a spike but the third umpire feels otherwise," the franchise tweeted.
"Terrible umpiring, mistakes like that is unforgivable with so much technology and help these days!" tweeted former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Earlier, RCB captain Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first.