Sachin was out says Ajmal....I say he wasn't

I found it interesting to read the public outcry regarding Sachin Tendulkar’s controversial not out decision during the semifinal against Pakistan. The electronic media was red hot with conspiracy theories when top on-field umpire Ian Gould raised his finger, only to have it overturned upon review.

Let me remind you of the incident.

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was bowling to Tendulkar during the 11th over of the high octane game in Mohali. A massive LBW shout was upheld by Gould and then instantaneously sent upstairs by Sachin for a second round of examination. Remember at this point that Tendulkar has been very outspoken against the use of technology in cricket because he does not trust it 100%. That view has also been loudly echoed by the BCCI.

Billy Bowden of crooked finger fame reviewed the footage with all the available bells and whistles and adjudicated. He scrutinised the presented Hawk-Eye predictive path and surmised that, although the ball pitched in line, it was going on to miss the timber by a whisker and relayed his not out decision. A visibly unimpressed Gould cancelled his original call and Sachin, who was on 23 at the time, stayed. A fortuitous Man of the Match award after Pakistan dropped him four times followed hours later, Pakistan were eliminated, and the rest is history.

That was until Saeed Ajmal had the following to say:

"I don't know how the television replays showed my delivery turning towards the leg side because I had bowled an arm ball and it went straight," Ajmal told AFP on the team's arrival in Lahore. "I was 110% confident when the referral was made that the batsman was out."

Ajmal was clearly venting his anger and disappointment upon landing back in his homeland but strong words of that nature deserved further investigation. I arrived early at the SuperSport edit suite on the following morning to have a very close, objective look at the decision, while also bearing Ajmal’s comments in mind.

After some time spent in the backroom with the trusty and enthusiastic Dale, who knows how to operate all this astonishing editing machinery, the injesting of footage was completed, frame by frame replays viewed, and analysing was done. After careful consideration I reached my conclusion.

In my opinion, Ajmal was mistaken. That particular delivery, that he thought snaffled Sachin LBW, was not an arm-ball and did not go straight. It was in fact, based on close inspection of the release from the hand and super slow motion rotation investigation, an off-spinner that was not intended to break sharply. Another important aspect that needed to be factored in when considering the end path of the ball was the wide release point that Almal often employs.

As it turned out the following ball was a top spinner that went past the outside edge of Tendulkar’s bat and created additional excitement. You might remember that delivery was also referred by umpire Taufel for a stumping chance from square leg.

In my opinion, after studying the relevant footage closely, the correct decision was made as the ball certainly gripped minimally and spun upon pitching, therefore toward the leg side. My understanding of the Hawk-Eye technology left me in agreement with the decision.

I wonder.

Does Sachin now believe in technology being used to assist umpires?