Battling Hughes unfairly undone
ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the final day in Mohali
Brydon Coverdale
18-Mar-2013
Phil Hughes fought hard but luck evaded him • BCCI
Tough call of the day
Phillip Hughes has been crippled by self-doubt against spin so far on this tour but worked incredibly hard to overcome his problems during a fighting innings of 69. It was a shame that it had to end with a terrible umpiring decision but that's what happened when R Ashwin struck Hughes on the pad with a ball that was drifting on with the arm and would have sailed well down leg side. Perhaps Aleem Dar thought it had turned but that was clearly not the case and Hughes was denied the chance to turn a potentially career-saving innings into a century.
Phillip Hughes has been crippled by self-doubt against spin so far on this tour but worked incredibly hard to overcome his problems during a fighting innings of 69. It was a shame that it had to end with a terrible umpiring decision but that's what happened when R Ashwin struck Hughes on the pad with a ball that was drifting on with the arm and would have sailed well down leg side. Perhaps Aleem Dar thought it had turned but that was clearly not the case and Hughes was denied the chance to turn a potentially career-saving innings into a century.
Tight call of the day
Three overs before Hughes was given out, Michael Clarke had also departed to a close call. Clarke was adjudged to have got a thin inside edge onto his pad and he was caught at short-leg, but before he stepped off the field of play the umpire Richard Kettleborough asked him to wait while the TV official checked on a possible no-ball. The replay was exceedingly tight and it could have been argued that Ravindra Jadeja had no part of his foot behind the line, but the umpire decided there was not enough certainty to call a no-ball and the legal delivery stood.
Three overs before Hughes was given out, Michael Clarke had also departed to a close call. Clarke was adjudged to have got a thin inside edge onto his pad and he was caught at short-leg, but before he stepped off the field of play the umpire Richard Kettleborough asked him to wait while the TV official checked on a possible no-ball. The replay was exceedingly tight and it could have been argued that Ravindra Jadeja had no part of his foot behind the line, but the umpire decided there was not enough certainty to call a no-ball and the legal delivery stood.
Catch of the day
There was certainly no doubt about another of Jadeja's wickets, a ripping return catch that got rid of Moises Henriques. The batsman drove the ball uppishly to the left of the bowler Jadeja, who dived and managed to get both hands to the ball, claiming his second wicket of the innings.
There was certainly no doubt about another of Jadeja's wickets, a ripping return catch that got rid of Moises Henriques. The batsman drove the ball uppishly to the left of the bowler Jadeja, who dived and managed to get both hands to the ball, claiming his second wicket of the innings.
Inside edge of the day
In the first innings, Cheteshwar Pujara lost his wicket because the umpire failed to detect an inside edge onto his pad and he was given out lbw. But in the second innings his luck ran the other way. Xavier Doherty drifted a ball into his pads, Pujara tried to flick it to leg and an inside edge onto his pad lobbed up and was caught at first slip. But this time the umpire was unmoved, and Pujara was given a life.
In the first innings, Cheteshwar Pujara lost his wicket because the umpire failed to detect an inside edge onto his pad and he was given out lbw. But in the second innings his luck ran the other way. Xavier Doherty drifted a ball into his pads, Pujara tried to flick it to leg and an inside edge onto his pad lobbed up and was caught at first slip. But this time the umpire was unmoved, and Pujara was given a life.
Hat-trick ball of the day
Merv Hughes once famously took a Test hat-trick that was spread across three overs. At the WACA in 1988, Hughes got rid of Curtly Ambrose from the last ball of his 36th over and then removed Patrick Patterson with the first delivery of his 37th over, ending the innings. Hughes completed the hat-trick by dismissing Gordon Greenidge with his first ball of the second innings. His fellow Victorian Peter Siddle found himself in a similar position after having Ishant Sharma caught behind off the last ball of his 29th over and bowling Pragyan Ojha from the first ball of his 30th over, ending India's innings. But this time there was no hat-trick: Pujara safely defended Siddle's opening delivery in the second innings.
Merv Hughes once famously took a Test hat-trick that was spread across three overs. At the WACA in 1988, Hughes got rid of Curtly Ambrose from the last ball of his 36th over and then removed Patrick Patterson with the first delivery of his 37th over, ending the innings. Hughes completed the hat-trick by dismissing Gordon Greenidge with his first ball of the second innings. His fellow Victorian Peter Siddle found himself in a similar position after having Ishant Sharma caught behind off the last ball of his 29th over and bowling Pragyan Ojha from the first ball of his 30th over, ending India's innings. But this time there was no hat-trick: Pujara safely defended Siddle's opening delivery in the second innings.
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here