Controversy broke out in the first session of the opening test between Australia and India in Perth after Indian opener KL Rahul was served a treat by the TV umpire during lunch.

Rahul fought hard for his 26 and was on the verge of going into a tough opening session when he was bowled by Mitchell Starc outside off, prompting a loud appeal from the Aussies.

On-field umpire Richard Kettleborough of England did not initially call a start until it was overturned by TV umpire Richard Illingworth.

Replays showed the ball making a noise as it passed Rahul’s bat before passing to Alex Carey, while a separate angle from the front showed it making contact with the front pad of Rahul’s bat as it passed.

Illingworth requested more camera angle, but when he failed to get any, he instructed Kettleborough to cancel the no-out call on the field, leaving Rahul stunned as he left Perth Stadium.

Simon Taufel, who umpired 74 Test matches between 2000 and 2012, believed Illingworth made the right call despite not having the necessary angles to make a definitive call on whether Rahul had hit the ball.

“The referee is looking for definitive evidence and there were a few gremlins… but he couldn’t get a few of the camera angles he wanted,” he said on Channel 7 broadcast.

“In my opinion the ball just grazes the outside edge.

“There was a spike on that side of the shot where the club was away from the pad.”

Taufel’s view was supported by former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody, who said in commentary for ABC Sport: “I don’t think (the third umpire) had any choice but to give it out.”

However, there were also many, including former Indian coach Ravi Shastri, who opined that the Indian opener was extremely unlucky.

“My first reaction was: Was there enough evidence for the third umpire to overrule the decision?” He said the following in Fox Cricket’s report.

“It wasn’t out of the ballpark.

“Did I see enough there to be convinced?

“I haven’t seen enough of it, to be honest.”

Former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe added: “I think he was unlucky. I think he brushed the pad with his bat. There’s no hot spot to bring it out anymore.”

Rahul was one of four Indian wickets to fall in the opening session, joining Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli in the sheds for the tourists.

Australia’s opening bowlers were destroyers in chief; Both Starc and Josh Hazlewood were going into lunch with identical figures of 2-10 from eight.