Decision to give Washington Sundar out was 'awful', says Michael Vaughan

Since the very first day of the series when KL Rahul was given out caught behind in controversial fashion, this ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been filled with contentious decisions. 

There was the massive Yashasvi Jaiswal call on the fifth day of the Melbourne Test that divided opinions. Meanwhile, earlier today, Virat Kohli was once again ruled not out in rather controversial fashion, with third umpire Joel Wilson concluding that Steve Smith at second slip had grassed the ball while scooping it up to Marnus Labuschagne at gully. 

Well, hours after the Kohli controversy, third umpire Wilson was involved in another contentious call. On this occasion, Wilson overturned the on-field call on the basis of a spike seen on RTS (Real Time Snicko) and ruled Washington Sundar out. 

The ball looked like it was tantalizingly close to the glove, but, on the first look, the spike did not look overly convincing. But Wilson, based on the evidence available, chose to overturn the original call.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan disagreed with the third umpire’s call and labeled the decision ‘awful’.

“No way is that OUT … that’s an awful decision,” Vaughan posted on X.

But former umpire Simon Taufel, who was a member of the ICC Elite Panel for over a decade, reckoned that third umpire Wilson was well within his rights to overturn the on-field call based on the evidence he had at his disposal.

"What Joel Wilson's looking for here is that spike up to one frame past the glove, and he's got that spike. There's nothing else out there and the ball is underneath the glove,” Taufel said on Seven Cricket.

"The third umpire well and truly within his rights, according to the protocols, to determine that's conclusive evidence for ball on glove."

Sundar posted 14 as India got bowled out for 185 after electing to bat after winning the toss.