KL Rahul's Adelaide Test-winning catch stirs minor controversy

Ashwin tossed the ball up and Hazlewood looked to play it through the covers but got an outside edge to hand a low catch to KL Rahul at gully. 

 KL Rahul's Adelaide Test-winning catch stirs minor controversy Image Credits: Reuters

India might have won the first Test against Australia by 31 runs, but they have stirred controversy over their dramatic match-winning catch at the Adelaide Oval on Monday.   

The visitors breathed a sigh of relief after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed the final wicket of Australia, i.e, Josh Hazlewood, after a long wait for the victory. 

Ashwin tossed the ball up and Hazlewood looked to play it through the covers but got an outside edge to hand a low catch to KL Rahul at gully. As a result of his dismissal, Australia were all out for 291 to hand India their first Test win in the last 10 years.

However, it seemed that things did not go well across the sports fraternity of Australia, with legendary cricketer Dean Jones questioning Hazlewood's dismissal. 

Jones cast doubt over Rahul claiming Hazlewood's catch, saying that it "did raise an eyebrow", news.com.au reported.

Cricket podcaster Dennis Freedman, on the other hand, questioned how can someone consider Rahul's grab as a "catch". 

“Oh dear. How can you claim that as a catch?. It wasn’t a catch," he wrote on his official Twitter handle. 

Rahul clutched the ball just above the turf and it appeared to bobble in his hands, following which many social media handlers suggested that the catch should have gone for the review by the third umpire before being confirmed.

However, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting also reflected on the matter in his post-match analysis and said that he didn't feel any issue with the catch being awarded to the Indians. 

“It was a little bit hard to tell from the initial angles. We saw most of the angles from behind. It carries well and truly, easily enough and if anything it looks like it dips down into the ground," Ponting told Channel 7. 

"It looks like a clean catch to me and guess what, it’s too late now anyway. The game’s over," he added.

India, who have also clinched the opening Test of a series in Australia for the very first time, will look to continue their momentum when they now lock horns with the Tim Paine-led side in the second match from December 14 at Perth Stadium. (Also Read: List of records broken in India's win over Australia in Adelaide Test)