Brydon Carse Escapes Penalty Despite Distracting Shubman Gill

The 2nd Test match between India and England started on July 2 at Edgbaston, Birmingham, with the hosts winning the toss and choosing to bat first. On a flat batting track, the Indian batters had a good time on day one despite losing opener KL Rahul for two runs. After Rahul's dismissal, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Karun Nair formed a solid partnership.

However, Nair fell prey to English bowler Brydon Carse's wonderful delivery on 31 runs off 50 balls, including four boundaries. Then walked in captain Shubman Gill, and just like the previous match, he looked in terrific form and timed the ball really well.

Brydon Carse Tactics to Distract Shubman Gill

In the 34th over, Brydon Carse tried to distract the batter with his own tricks. On the fourth ball, when Gill got the strike, the English bowler pulled out his left hand, making a no-ball sign, to distract the bowler. Gill noticed it and moved away from the stance. The ball was declared a dead ball. Later, the batter did mention it to the umpires regarding Carse's actions.

However, in the next ball, the bowler stuck out his tongue to distract the batter once again. Carse was almost successful in getting Gill out as the inswinger nipped back into off and middle stump. The batter tried to play the ball, so he went forward and pushed it. The hosts were quite convinced that Gill was out and went for a review. But the thick inside-edge on the Indian captain's bat saved him, costing England one review. But the main question that arises here is whether Carse should be punished for a “deliberate attempt to distract the striker” or not.

What does the Rule of Deliberate Attempt to Distract the Striker say?

Under the Law 41.4 in cricket, “it is unfair for any fielder deliberately to attempt to distract the striker while he is preparing to receive or receiving a delivery.” In such cases, if the umpires find out that the law is broken, the ball will be declared dead. If the offense is quite deliberate, the batting team would be rewarded with five penalty runs.

Moreover, the batter will not be declared out on that particular delivery, and the ball wouldn't be counted in that over. Then, the umpires will send the report to the match referee, and the bowler will be punished as per the offense.

However, in Gill's case, the fourth ball was declared a dead ball because the batter moved away from the batting crease. But Brydon Carse's tongue-pulling trick didn't come under the limelight. Well, the matter remains quite debatable as Gill didn't complain about it to the umpires. The Brydon Carse Shubman Gill incident became one of the moments of the day and it might have cost England five penalty runs.

Jaiswal, Gill, Jadeja Shine for India

It was a fruitful day for Team India as they scored 310 runs at the loss of five wickets. Despite losing five wickets, India are in a commanding position. The pitch clearly is in favor of the batters, which is an added advantage for the visitors. Yashasvi Jaiswal played an incredible knock of 87 runs off 107 balls, while Indian skipper Shubman Gill scored a wonderful century.

This is his second century of the series. Moreover, he formed a 99-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, who is batting on 41 runs off 67 balls. The visitors will have an entire day in their hands to put up a mammoth total on the board on day two and push England on their back foot. After losing the first Test match, skipper Gill will be looking for that much-needed victory in the IND vs ENG 2nd Test.