Ananthapadmanabhan courts controversy after ruling Hardik Pandya out

Hyderabad: Third umpire K N Ananthapadmanabhan courted controversy after ruling Hardik Pandya out in the first One-Day International (ODI) against New Zealand here on Wednesday.

Drama unfolded in the 40th over of the Indian innings bowled by Daryl Mitchell. The bails came off and the on-field umpires left it to the TV umpire to decide whether it was the ball or the gloves of Kiwi wicketkeeper-captain Tom Latham which dislodged them.

The TV replays seemed to suggest that it was Latham who had broken the stumps with his gloves. But former Kerala captain Ananthapadmanabhan ruled in favour of the Kiwis much to surprise of the players and the fans.

Was Hardik Pandya really out ??#CricketTwitter looks like keeper gloves hit bells .. pic.twitter.com/2ycbZzCDX4
— Paresh Deshmukh (@PareshD12462540) January 18, 2023

Pandya, who made 28 off 38 balls, added 74 for the fifth wicket in the company of Shubman Gill.

Latham broke the stumps with his gloves in the very next over. But this time it was an easy decision for the third umpire and he ruled Gill not out.

After this, Indian all-rounder R Ashwin took to Twitter to make his displeasure known at the Pandya verdict.

Forget about split screens and replays, the cut shot from Shubhman Gill proved why Hardik was clearly Not Out. #indvsnz
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) January 18, 2023

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