After viewing a series of replays from different angles and zooming in, Kettleborough ruled out the decision, much to the visible disappointment of both Gill and his teammate, captain Rohit Sharma, as well as the thousands of Indian fans on the pitch. The entire process took less than three minutes.
“Yes, definitely, it could have taken more time [to verify if it was a clean catch] because it’s a World Test Championship final and not just a normal match”, Shami said later. “You could have reviewed more and zoomed in more. But it’s okay, it’s part of the game.” That was a sentiment, which is part of the game, that Shami would repeat later.
It was Green’s second standout hold in the Test, after the spectacular one he took extending to the right at Gully to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane in the early innings, although he also dropped a much simpler chance early in the game. “At the time I definitely thought I got him,” Green said of Gill’s sack. “I think in the heat of the moment I thought he was clean. He left it up to the third referee and he agreed.”
Green was jeered at by a sizeable and vociferous crowd of India supporters throughout the remainder of the day, as well as “cheating” chants whenever he was involved in the action. However, it did not seem to faze him. “Obviously, the Indian public is so passionate and obviously one of their favorite guys, Shubman Gill, came out and I think that’s what everyone was really looking forward to seeing, so it is what it is and we move on,” Green said.
Only time will tell if Gill faces any consequences for her tweet. Clause 2.7 of the ICC code of conduct is clear that posting on social media falls within the jurisdiction of what constitutes a breach of the code.