Item in The Australian, 27 February 2017, where the title is “Border-Gavaskar series: India’s DRS ‘shocker’
India’s new-found resolve to use the Decision Review System backfired spectacularly in Pune. There were a range of different factors that led to Australia recording their first Test win in India since 2004. The tourists were much better in the field, while they outperformed the top-ranked Test side with bat and ball. One of the most stark differences between the two teams was their use of DRS.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s stubborn resistance to DRS, which had never been used in a Border-Gavaskar battle until Australia took a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series, ended last year. Intended to remove umpiring howlers, Virat Kohli’s side burned their referrals frivolously throughout the contest that ended on Saturday. The most glaring example came when openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul, unhappy with their lbw dismissals, wasted the side’s two reviews in just 5.3 overs of India’s second innings.
“It’s not there to say ‘let’s hope I get lucky’ and you cost your teammates. India’s use of the DRS has been pretty ordinary,” Shane Warne said on Star Sports. Michael Clarke suggested Kohli would be “absolutely fuming” with his two openers. India great Ravi Shastri agreed. “India have had a shocker with the reviews,” Shastri said. “It’s so crucial in the fourth innings, they have to be careful. How could Rahul review that one?”
Kohli struggled with DRS in the field. He ran out of reviews then straddled the line of dissent when Richard Kettleborough turned down two confident appeals on day three. Matthew Wade and Steve Smith, who was on 73 at the time and went on to score 109, both would have been out if India were in a position to refer not out verdicts.
“It’s nice to have one up your sleeve for the real shocker,” Smith said. “You don’t want to guess too much on those sort of wickets. It was fortunate that their first two batters used up the review early.” The BCCI had blacklisted DRS because of concerns about the accuracy of the technology.
ALSO SEE Michael Roberts: “DRS – India’s hegemonic idiocy,” 19 February 2012, http://island cricket.com/columns/michael_roberts/160450219/drs-indias-hegemonic-idiocy