Though Australian captain Steve Smith eventually did fall for 38 during Day Three against South Africa, the skipper survived a seemingly plumb LBW earlier in his innings that left commentators and fans dumbfounded.
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Sitting on 30 just after lunch, a ball from spinner Keshav Maharaj caught Smith on his front pad before hitting bat with captain Faf du Plessis opting to utilise DRS after the umpire failed to raise his finger.
While ruling the ball did hit pad first and that the delivery would have hit the wicket, DRS inexplicably decided to leave line of impact to umpire's call after seemingly believing it had struck Smith's back pad first.
"Oh that's out LBW, isn't it?," commentator Mark Nicholas said after the delivery.
"I think for whatever reason that the technology has suggested the ball hit the back pad which it did do at second and then the predicted path comes after it's hit the back pad and not the front pad which is where the confusion lies."
Fellow commentator Brandon Julian was even more bemused.
"It can't be ... I don't think ball-tracking is right," he said.
And it's safe to say everyone else watching wasn't all that impressed with the decision either.
Only DRS can create doubt in a stone-dead LBW.. #SAvAus #Smith #Maharaj
— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) March 3, 2018
Images of the ball hitting Smith’s front pad, his back pad, as well as the angle that DRS reviewed. You decide which pad it went for... pic.twitter.com/aqEl5k6gyZ
— Derek Alberts (@derekalberts1) March 3, 2018
That’s smashed Steve Smith’s front pad which was adjacent with the stumps. I’ve had 8 beers and I can pick up what DRS cannot. Don’t @
— Jesse Dunne (@twigdunne) March 3, 2018
Me. I’m right.
That was probably the worst DRS decision I have ever seen. The ball clearly hit the front pad which means - Impact is in-line. But the technology thought it hit the batsmen on the back pad showing umpires call for impact! That’s sad. Smith was out there. #SAvAUS
— Sharath Sathu (@sharathsathu) March 3, 2018
The call wouldn't prove too costly however with Smith only adding a further eight runs before falling to a successful LBW review from Dean Elgar.
Australia would end Day Three with a lead of 402 runs, finishing at stumps 9/213.
