On Day 1 of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, veteran Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena caused a stir with an on-field gesture that might have saved England from losing a Decision Review System (DRS) appeal.
The visitors need to win the fifth Test at The Oval since India is behind 1-2 in the five-match Test series. England won the toss and chose to bowl first, with Ollie Pope leading the team in place of injured captain Ben Stokes. Karun Nair, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Dhruv Jurel were the four players India added to the playing XI.
On Day 1 of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, veteran Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena caused a stir with an on-field gesture that might have saved England from losing a Decision Review System (DRS) appeal.
The visitors need to win the fifth Test at The Oval since India is behind 1-2 in the five-match Test series. England won the toss and chose to bowl first, with Ollie Pope leading the team in place of injured captain Ben Stokes. With the addition of Karun Nair, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Dhruv Jurel to the playing XI, India made four changes.
But the contentious event happened in the thirteenth over of India’s innings. Josh Tongue, a bowler for England, bowled a full-toss to Sai Sudharsan, a young left-hander who seemed to get an inside edge but was smacked on the pads.
England appealed for LBW, but Dharmasena rejected it right away.
Even though the replay-based verdict was eventually determined to be accurate, Dharmasena’s hand motion towards the England players indicated that the ball had struck the bat. This gesture influenced England’s decision to forego a review because it was made before the 15-second DRS timer had gone off.
It would have been a waste of the hosts’ referral if they had reviewed. However, the image of the umpire offering clarification has drawn criticism. An umpire should never explain a decision before a team decides whether or not to review it, according to numerous experts and fans.
What is Kumar Dharmasena doing? Let them take review, wait 15 sec. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/IRTB00ipBu
— The NightWatchMan (@NightWtachman_8) July 31, 2025
As soon as the story went viral, Dharmasena’s actions were questioned by cricket fans and former players. Michael Atherton, a former captain of England, also discussed the choice. “India would say we want England to burn their reviews,” he stated.
India recovered to 72/2 at lunchtime despite losing openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul early. Gus Atkinson used a successful DRS review to trap Jaiswal LBW. Soon after, Rahul came in, playing onto a short Chris Woakes delivery. But shortly after, the team lost Sai Sudharshan and Shubman Gill. The scorecard was 104/4 when it was written.
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