VIDEO | Soft signal in focus again as Liton Das given out despite visible grounding of ball
Soft signal has been in the line of fire for quite some time now and the on-field umpiring signal being the eventual shot caller has been criticised by many. The discussion was bound to gain momentum once again as Liton Das was called Out despite a portion of the ball was caught while grounding.
Despite Soumya Sarkar being in very good form, Bangladesh delayed his arrival and instead asked Liton Das to open alongside Tamim Iqbal in order to ensure that there was a right-hander on the crease to tackle Mujeeb Ur Rahman threat. However, that didn’t reap dividends as Mujeeb dismissed Liton Das in just the fifth over of the innings in a controversial manner.
On the second ball of the 5th over, Mujeeb bowled a full delivery to Das and the carrom ball lured the opener to such an extent that he was ready to drive it through cover. While the floated delivery should have been kept down by Das, his overeagerness resulting in the ball finding Hashmatuallah Shahidi at cover, who dived to take a good low catch.
The umpires weren't sure if the catch had been taken clearly and to confirm that, they went upstairs with the soft signal being out. The third umpire Aleem Dar had a tricky decision to make and after repeated viewing, he decided to side with his on-field colleague. Considering the replays had to get conclusive evidence for the original call to be reversed, Dar declared Das out. But that, of course, created controversy because some portion of the ball was visibly touching the ground when the catch was taken. A reason to scarp soft signal altogether, maybe?
