Ashwin's cheeky post targeting Stokes reignites umpiring chatter

The Test series between India and England may be over, but the battle continues on social media. India’s Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the team’s best performers in the five-match series, has once again left the table in awe by sharing an incident that happened during the second Test against Australia in New Zealand. The referee’s shouts became animated. Ashwin’s post received a lot of attention from fans on social media, with the India star appearing to take a subtle dig at Ben Stokes and the England team.

It all happened when Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh saw a delivery from New Zealand pacer Ben Sers hit his pads. The referee raised his finger after a strong appeal but Marsh decided to review it.

Although no bat was involved, ball tracking showed the pitch would hit the bat, so the umpire issued the call.

Ashwin recognized an opportunity to share a tongue-in-cheek post on X (formerly Twitter).

“Referee demands push this Test to a tense finish. #AUSVNZ

Some support from England and Australia (right hook),” Ashwin posted.

The umpire called for the test to be brought to a tense finish. #AUSVNZ
UK provides some support to Australia
— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) March 11, 2024

England captain Ben Stokes has publicly questioned the validity of the “umpire’s call” in DRS commentary and said the batsman should be dismissed if the ball is found to have slightly hit the stumps. The decision to reinstate on-field umpiring in this case made no sense to Stokes.

As for New Zealand’s match against Australia, Marsh’s dismissal did little to derail Australia’s chase, with wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey and skipper Pat Cummins taking the team home. Carey remained unbeaten on 98 before Cummins hit the match-winner to end the chase.

“Very nervous, everybody was nervous the last couple of hours. Amazing win. (On the winning run) could have won anyway, I didn’t know he (Kyrie) was at 98. The tossing helped, It’s interesting how quickly the game goes on the first day. So, a first-innings lead is always key. We’ve had a lot of time on the other side of the Test and I just tell the kids to keep the scoreboard moving, keep busy and head toward Opponents apply pressure.

“We have an experienced team and the story of this series is the players stepping up in crucial moments. Love playing Test matches, the best form of cricket, pays off on days like this,” Cummins said after the match said.