New Delhi: Afghanistan missed a golden opportunity to dismiss in-form Rishabh Pant on the second day of the one-off Test at the Maharaja Yadavendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Milanpur, New Chandigarh.The incident occurred in the 89th over of India’s innings when Azmatullah Umarzai made a strong catch-back appeal against Pant. The umpire dismissed the appeal, and while Afghanistan briefly discussed the possibility of a review, wicketkeeper officer Zazai seemed convinced there was no lead.Relying on the judgment of their wicketkeeper, Afghanistan decided against reviewing the DRS.However, later replays revealed that the decision could have gone in favor of Afghanistan. UltraEdge revealed a clear spike as the ball went past Pant’s bat before making it to the wicketkeeper, suggesting there was indeed an edge.The missed opportunity proved costly as Pant scored 81 off 121 balls and was eventually dismissed by Afghanistan captain Heshmatullah Shahidi.Pant looked poised for another century but failed to convert his start. Shahidi cheated him with a fly delivery as the left-hander went down the track in search of a big hit. The ball deflected slightly, resulting in a mistimed shot under the bat.The ball rose in the air and Azmatullah Umarzai got under it to complete a simple catch to end Pant’s entertaining innings.Earlier, KL Rahul and Shibman Gill scored impressive centuries to put India in a commanding position.Rahul scored 100 off 165 balls before Ziaur Rahman Sharifi was dismissed, while Gayle scored 126 off 177 balls, an innings that included 15 fours and a six.
