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          Six DRS moments that shaped the Bengaluru Test

          Waiting on DRS: R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara stare at the big screen in hope AFP
          • Brydon Coverdale, Assistant editor, ESPNcricinfoMar 7, 2017, 02:20 PM
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              Assistant Editor Possibly the only person to win a headline-writing award for a title with the word "heifers" in it, Brydon decided agricultural journalism wasn't for him when he took up his position with ESPNcricinfo in Melbourne. His cricketing career peaked with an unbeaten 85 in the seconds for a small team in rural Victoria on a day when they could not scrounge up 11 players and Brydon, tragically, ran out of partners to help him reach his century. He is also a compulsive TV game-show contestant and has appeared on half a dozen shows in Australia.

          Day 1

          V Kohli lbw b Lyon 12 - struck down

          In Pune, Kohli had been bowled leaving a straight ball from Steve O'Keefe. In Bengaluru, he similarly chose not to play at an offbreak from Nathan Lyon and was given out lbw by umpire Nigel Llong. It was a strange review that seemed out of hope more than anything, and as the replay was shown on the big screen - demonstrating that Kohli was indeed plumb - he walked off without even waiting for confirmation from the on-field umpire. There was no tangible cost to India, for no later batsman was left without a review that would have saved him, but it was symptomatic of their state of mind on the first day.

          Day 2

          SE Marsh c Saha b Yadav 14 - not reviewed

          For all the incessant appealing from both sides as the Test wore on, this was a strange anomaly. Umesh Yadav jagged one off a crack and the ball fizzed past the fending Shaun Marsh into the gloves of Wriddhiman Saha. There was half a shout for caught behind but umpire Richard Illingworth wasn't interested and neither were India in reviewing his call. But replays showed the ball had in fact kissed the batsman's glove on the way through. It meant a reprieve for Marsh on 14 and it was a costly one - he went on to top score for Australia with 66.

          Day 3

          V Kohli lbw b Hazlewood 15 - struck down

          This time it was the third umpire who was really under the spotlight. Josh Hazlewood rapped Kohli on the pad with a ball that stayed a touch low, and the on-field decision from Llong was out. But Kohli reviewed immediately, seemingly confident he had nicked the ball. But even with replay after replay, angle after angle, and the assistance of Ultra Edge, the TV umpire Richard Kettleborough could not determine conclusively whether the first impact with the ball had been pad or the toe of the bat. So close was everything together that he chose to stay with the on-field decision, for it would have been mere guesswork to overturn it.

          Day 4

          DA Warner lbw b Ashwin 17 - struck down

          There must have been only millimetres in this one. Warner tried to sweep Ashwin, was struck on the pad, and was given out on field by Illingworth. He asked for a review, perhaps hoping he had been hit outside the line of off stump. HawkEye showed "umpire's call" for both the impact of ball on pad and for the ball striking off stump, and Warner had to go. Although it was hard for the naked eye to see where the ball and strike zone met when Warner was rapped on the pad, there needed only to be a millimetre of crossover to condemn the batsman. The relevant ICC playing condition states that "if an 'out' decision is being reviewed, in order to report that the point of impact is between wicket and wicket (i.e. in line with the stumps), the evidence provided by technology should show that no part of the ball at the moment of interception is between wicket and wicket". So the umpire's call stood. Cricket Australia certainly contributed to the debate on Twitter, posting a screen grab of the HawkEye projection with the leading comment: "Thoughts?"

          SE Marsh lbw b Yadav 9 - not reviewed

          Around the wicket, Umesh angled one in to the left-handed Marsh, who shouldered arms and was struck on the pad. Umpire Llong gave Marsh out, although he had clearly been struck outside the line of off stump. When offering no shot, that is irrelevant, but the question was whether the ball would have then curled in far enough to hit off stump. After consultation with his partner Steven Smith - and perhaps wary of using Australia's only remaining review - Marsh walked off. Smith later revealed that this had been a miscommunication: he had told Marsh to "go", as in "go for the review", but Marsh thought his captain was telling him to go on his way. HawkEye showed the ball would not have been close to hitting off stump. A bad decision from the umpire was compounded by a bad decision from the Australians.

          SPD Smith lbw b Yadav 28 - not reviewed

          This was the moment that tensions really boiled over. Smith was struck by a grubber from Umesh, and looked clearly plumb. But losing Smith would have been a crushing blow to Australia's chase, so he chatted to his partner about a review, and then in what he later called a "brain fade", Smith signalled to the dressing room for advice on whether to use DRS. The ICC playing conditions state clearly that "signals from the dressing room must not be given" prior to asking for a review, and therefore umpire Llong quickly stepped in to tell Smith he had to go. Kohli also jumped in to bring the matter to the umpires' attention, and the BCCI got involved on Twitter by tweeting "DRS - Dressing room review system? Smith tries to get some suggestions from the dressing room for a review". The irony, of course, was that had Smith reviewed, India would have benefited, for Smith was plumb lbw and Australia would have lost their last review.