The ongoing Test match between India and New Zealand has enthralled us all for the last three days, with players from both sides not giving each other an inch and pushing one another to the limit.

Coming into the third day, the Kiwis were in a better position after their openers gave them a brilliant start adding in excess runs for the first wicket but the Indian spinners showed their class and bundled them for 296 runs to take a crucial 49-run lead.

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Apart from India’s terrific bowling performance, there were a couple of other things that made the headlines on Saturday. Ajinkya Rahane faced heat for not going for the review and leaving Tom Latham off the hook. After the replay showed all three reds, Ravichandran Ashwin was seen kicking the turf in frustration.

The second big talking point on the day also involved India’s veteran off-spinner as he got into an argument with umpire Nitin Menon after he raised an objection over his follow-through.

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We all know Ashwin likes to try out new things while bowling and he did the same on Saturday but it led to a serious argument with the match official.

The 35-year-old spin wizard opted for a unique follow-through going across the umpire and finishing on the other side of the stump. The umpire allegedly was not happy with Ashwin obstructing his as well as non-striker's vision with his follow-through.

Ashwin argues with umpire Nitin Menon pic.twitter.com/R5qMxyeDi0

— Sunaina Gosh (@Sunainagosh7) November 27, 2021

However, Ashwin argued that the umpire had no right of warning him unless he was stepping on the danger area in his follow-through, which he clearly wasn’t. The argument between the two dragged on for at least the next three overs, with skipper Rahane also joining in to support his teammate.

Not just that, even head coach Rahul Dravid wasn’t happy with the on-field umpire reprimanding his star bowler without any fault of his and he took the matter to match referee Javagal Srinath and presented his opinion on the matter.

© BCCI

The fact that Dravid, who is otherwise known for keeping a cool head, walked into Srintah’s cabin and raised his objection is enough to prove how serious the matter was.

As per the rules, Ashwin wasn’t doing anything wrong and fans loved his animated reaction towards the umpire. Referring to Latham's plumb LBW call, some fans joked that Menon shouldn’t have raised the issue of obstruction because he wasn’t making the right calls anyway.

Ashwin plays with opponents and match officials at the same time.

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) November 27, 2021

Umpire: "You are obstructing my vision"

Rahane: "He's not running on to the danger area."

Umpire: "I can't make the LBW calls."

Ashwin: "You are anyways not making any" #INDvNZ | #NZvIND #TeamIndia #Ashwin Anna pic.twitter.com/A4TqljIa3A

— Shalini's Googly (@SeamBowling) November 27, 2021

Ashwin is not the guy who do mistakes, he is the guy who keep on exploring rule book and ticking every box #Ashwin #INDvNZ #IndianCricketTeam pic.twitter.com/Urjjw1SmM1

— Martin Anthu (@Martin_Anthu23) November 27, 2021

Nitin Menon Should be happy that the captain is Rahane and Not Virat.#viratkholi #Ashwin #Rahane

— Divyam Poptani (@dvpoptani10) November 27, 2021

When ashwin come to bowl,

Le umpire Nitin Menon.#NZvIND @cricketaakash badiiya tha guru... pic.twitter.com/HlrATVzzaw

— CON_MAN. (@CONMAN_917) November 27, 2021

Nitin Menon has a point. For all the masterclass of spin craft Ashwin is putting on, he is completely blinding Menon on his follow through. I am not sure you can blame the ump for not giving LBWs in this case. He can't see it in real time.

— IPL 2021 (@iplthebest) November 27, 2021 

Menon should consider himself lucky that Rahane was leading the side in this match, and not Virat Kohli as he wouldn’t have dealt with the matter so calmly. 

However, Ashwin didn’t let the argument affect his bowling and he finished with three wickets and played a crucial role in India’s incredible comeback. 

After losing early wickets on Day 4, @ShreyasIyer15 and @ashwinravi99 steady ship for #TeamIndia with a fine 50-run partnership.

Live - https://t.co/WRsJCUhS2d #INDvNZ @Paytm pic.twitter.com/QKBBJTesWu

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 28, 2021

Meanwhile, India’s poor batting performance in the second innings has spoiled all the hard work done by the bowling unit and allowed Kane Williamson’s side to get back in the match despite conceding a first innings lead.

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