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Virat Kohli was seen saying something to Steve Smith after the Aussie shook his head in disapproval to the third umpire’s decision.
Steve Smith (L) and Virat Kohli. (PC: X)
Senior Australia batter Steve Smith was not happy after India star Virat Kohli earned a valuable lifeline in the fifth Test of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. On his very first ball, Kohli found himself trapped and nicked one of Scott Boland’s deliveries straight into Smith’s hands at second slip.
The ever-alert Aussie took a blinder to dismiss the former India skipper, diving towards the right to grab the ball and tossing it upwards for Marnus Labuschagne to complete the catch. A third umpire review, however, revealed that the ball first touched the ground before Smith took the catch.
As Kohli was confirmed to be not out, Smith shook his head at the call and was seen exchanging words with Kohli after the over’s completion. Star Sports has now shared the incident’s clip on X (formerly Twitter).
During lunch break, Smith opened up about the dismissal opportunity that could have seen Kohli depart for a golden duck. When asked if he had gotten his hand underneath the ball, the Aussie replied, “100 percent. Like… No denying it whatsoever. 100 percent but the umpire has made the decision.”
Legendary Australia skipper Ricky Ponting also joined the chatter surrounding the controversial decision. Even he completely disagreed with the third umpire’s not-out call. “As far as I was concerned, if (the ball) had come out of (Smith’s) hand, he wouldn’t have been able to scoop it up. That’s what I’m saying, I think his fingers are clearly underneath the ball … look where his pointer figure is there, it’s still underneath the ball,” he said on commentary for 7Cricket.
India faced early blows on the first day of the Sydney Test as the opening duo Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul was dismissed by the eighth over.
Kohli joined hands with Shubman Gill to anchor India’s innings. Nathan Lyon brought their brief partnership to a close in the 25th over, dismissing Gill at 20. Kohli eventually lost his wicket to Boland, with a debuting Beau Webster taking his catch in third slip. He added only 17 runs after playing 69 deliveries.
India found themselves on the back foot after being bundled out for 185 runs in the first innings. Rishabh Pant was the top scorer for the visitors with a 40-run knock that included three boundaries and one six. Australia lost Usman Khawaja on the last ball of the day when the left-handed batter nicked one to KL Rahul in the slip cordon.
- Location :
Sydney, Australia
