Ravindra Jadeja was seen celebrating animatedly in front of umpire Chris Gaffaney after a ball change for India was finally approved on day five of the first Test at Leeds.
The incident occurred during England’s chase, during which the Indian players had repeatedly expressed concerns about the shape of the ball early in the session.
From the start of the fifth day, Indian fielders, including KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Shardul Thakur, raised multiple appeals to the on-field umpires, Gaffaney and Paul Reiffel, requesting a replacement ball. The players believed the ball had gone out of shape. A softer ball restricts its movement, which is what seemed to be the concern.
However, the umpires repeatedly denied the request as the ball kept passing through the ball gauge without issue. There were at least five attempts by India to get the ball changed through the first hour of play, but they were all turned down.
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India’s fast bowlers struggled during this period. Despite overcast conditions, there was very little movement on offer. The England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett made merry, scoring at nearly four runs an over and bringing up a century partnership within the first session.
The breakthrough with the ball came in the 28th over of the innings, when the umpires tested it again and found it failed the gauge test. Following this, Gaffaney signalled for replacement balls to be brought onto the field. The Indian players celebrated this incident, with Jadeja gesturing animatedly towards the umpire, who let out a smile.
On the stump mic, Rishabh Pant, who had earlier been sanctioned for his outburst following a failed ball change request in the first innings, was heard saying: “Naya ball ka alag feel hai [The new ball has a different feel]". It should be noted that the replacement ball isn’t new, but of a similar condition to the one being used previously.
Despite the ball change, India were unable to strike before lunch. England went into the break unscathed, with all 10 wickets in hand and requiring 254 runs in the remaining two sessions to win the Test and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Watch Ravindra Jadeja celebrate the ball change here:
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