The freak dismissal of Bengal batsman Sreevats Goswami on the opening day of their Group A Ranji match against Karnataka caused as much consternation as unexpected joy depending upon which camp you belonged.
Goswami, who walked in to bat at the fall of opener Abhishek Das, saw the other opener and debutant Navid Ahmed depart soon off R Vinay Kumar. Two overs later, the right-hander strolled down the track after playing the ball down the wicket to bowler Vinay. The paceman, sensing an opportunity, rifled the ball back to the stumps and Goswami, who was just a yard and a half outside the crease, tried to get to the crease even as the throw hit the woodwork.
The Karnataka fielders went up in appeal more in hope rather than any conviction and the on-field umpire referred it to the TV umpire. The replays, however, confirmed that the ball had hit the bat, forcing it to rise in the air, before going on to strike the stumps. Technically, Goswami was out and not surprisingly the red light was flashed much to Karnataka’s delight.
It was an unfortunate dismissal but, it appears, a mountain is being made out of a molehill by the commentators. Before suggesting that being the champion side, Karnataka should have shown some sportsmanship by withdrawing their appeal, those who are in a position to air their unsubstantiated views could have made an effort to know if the home team were made aware of the sequence of events leading up to Goswami’s dismissal.
It should have been ascertained if the on-field officials -- Pashchim Pathak and Nitin Narendra Menon -- were made known of the mode of dismissal by TV umpire Virender Kumar Sharma and in-turn if that message was conveyed to Karnataka players.
Overwhelming evidence suggests that nothing of that sort was done.
In any case, the umpires are not duty-bound to request the fielding side to withdraw the appeal.
Whether the appeal would have been withdrawn or not is a matter of speculation but to put the blame at Karnataka’s doorstep without getting one’s facts right sounds a bit churlish to say the least.