Aaron Finch dismissal brings ball-tracking back in focus

An error in ball-tracking projection came into the spotlight as Aaron Finch was given out lbw off Kuldeep Yadav during the third ODI between India and Australia in Ranchi.

When the left-arm wristspinner got his stock ball to straighten and catch Finch on the back foot in the 32nd over, C Shamshuddin, the on-field umpire, ruled the batsman out lbw. Finch called for a review, which suggested that the ball had pitched on leg stump, when it had actually bounced on middle stump.

What on earth has just happened with the Finch LBW? Ball tracker has the ball pitching somewhere completely different, and that sort of affects the trajectory doesn't it. Might still be out, but bizarre. #INDvAUS #Finch pic.twitter.com/fDyZR1X0p0

— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) March 8, 2019

While the ball might have still gone onto hit the stumps even if it had pitched on leg stump, it was a glaring error on the part of the ball-tracking technology being used.

Finch LBW. Are we just gonna ignore the fact that ball tracking had it pitching in a totally different place to reality?

I saw it pitching middle, maybe even middle and off. Ball tracking had it pitching on leg.

Still out but pretty weird. #INDvsAUS

— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) March 8, 2019

Finch struck 93 off 99 balls - his first fifty-plus score in 22 innings in white-ball cricket since his record-breaking 172 in the Harare T20I - before he was given out lbw to end a 193-run opening-wicket stand.