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Pakistan were granted an extra review option after being robbed of a wicket due to an apparent error by TV umpire Paul Reiffel during the second Test in Colombo.
The incident took place during the opening day's play at the P. Sara Oval on Thursday when Pakistan asked for a review after on-field umpire Sundaram Ravi turned down an appeal for a catch at slip against Kaushal Silva off Zulfiqar Babar.
After repeated replays -- the Decision Review System (DRS) for the series does not feature snicko or hot-spot, Reiffel, the former Australian fast bowler, ruled in favour of the umpire indicating there was no edge off the bat. But the replays also suggested that if the ball had not hit the bat, the batsman was leg-before since the ball would have gone to hit the stumps, a possibility Reiffel did not take into account.
International Cricket Council (ICC) rules on DRS state that "... in reviewing a dismissal, if the third umpire believes that the batsman may instead be out by any other mode of dismissal, he shall advise the on-field umpire accordingly".
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis approached match referee Chris Broad to seek an explanation, but the decision could not be overruled because play had already resumed. Silva, who was on 13 at the time of the DRS decision, had moved to 21 in Sri Lanka's score of 70-1 by stumps.
There was no comment from the ICC, but television graphics after play resumed on Friday confirmed that Pakistan still had both their reviews left in the innings.