Third umpire’s call saves Virat Kohli from falling for golden duck, Steve Smith in disbelief after great effort – WATCH – India TV
Ultimately the right decision was made but it was a heart-in-mouth moment for Virat Kohli on the first ball he faced in the fifth and final Test in Sydney against Australia after India opted to bat first on Friday, January 3. Kohli was caught on the rebound by gully through second slip but the ball just touched the ground before Steve Smith lobbed it up for Marnus Labuschagne to hold on to it as the Indian stalwart fell once again into the outside off trap.
The incident took place on the penultimate delivery of the eighth over of the Indian innings bowled by Scott Boland as Kohli just came into the middle after the fall of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s wicket. Boland kept in that channel of uncertainty on short of the good length drawing Kohli into the shot. Kohli got a healthy edge, which kept going far from the second slip. However, Smith in that position, made a leap for it and held on io it, almost.
Smith had it in his control before the ball just grazed the grass just a touch while slipping through his fingers. Smith had scooped it in time for Labuschagne to complete the job as the Australians were ecstatic. The third umpire Joel Wilson after considerable deliberation concluded that the ball just slipped out of Smith’s control momentarily and Kohli survived.
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The entire India and the large bandwagon of Indian fans along with Kohli himself breathed a sigh of relief as the Indian No 4 survived and Smith hanged his head in disbelief. “100 per cent [on getting his hands underneath the ball. No denying it whatsoever,” Smith said during the lunch break when asked about the contentious decision. He kept mouthing ‘it was out’ as he returned to his fielding position. For India, there was no harm done.
Earlier, after winning the toss, the Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah chose to bat first despite the overcast conditions in Sydney. India lost both openers KL Rahul and Jaiswal in quick succession before Kohli and Shubman Gill overcame nervy moments to get through the early period.
India went into the series finale without regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who had returned just 31 runs in five innings.
