Image Credit- PTI
Although Ben Stokes has expressed doubts over the
decision to declare Zak Crawley out of bat, he does not think it was the cause
of England’s defeat in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
On day four, India defeated the tourists by 106 runs,
tying the series at 1-1 after they had bowled them out for 292 in an attempt to
reach 399. Similar to the first inning, nobody else scored more than 36, and
Crawley led the way with 73 runs this time.
In the morning session, Crawley was standing his
ground while wickets tumbled all around him. Standing umpire Marais Erasmus
declared him not out on the pitch after Kuldeep Yadav’s length delivery that
hit him on the pad at the conclusion of the 42nd over.
When Erasmus was forced to reverse his initial
decision, India captain Rohit Sharma was rewarded for his patience in
requesting a review. The England captain believed that the ball’s impact
against the leg stump was more controversial than DRS’s predicted trajectory.
“Technology in the game is obviously there,”
said Stokes at stumps. “Everyone has an understanding of the reasons it
can never be 100% which is why we have the umpire’s call. That’s why it’s in
place.
“When it’s not 100% as everyone says, I don’t
think it’s unfair for someone to say ‘I think the technology has got it wrong
on this occasion’. And that is my personal opinion. I will say that.
“But in a game full of ifs, buts and maybes, I am
not going to say that’s the reason why we haven’t got the result we wanted. I’m
just saying my personal opinion is that the technology has gone wrong on this
occasion, and I think that’s fair to say.”