Virat Kohli, India vs Australia SCG Test: In the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, Virat Kohli was caught on the very first ball, the ball escaped Steve Smith’s hands and went towards the gully. It seemed that ‘the end’ of Kohli’s innings had come. But the third umpire analyzed Kohli’s catch in slow motion video, after which it was found that Smith had not taken the catch cleanly.
But despite this, Kohli could not take any advantage of this gift of life and after scoring (17) runs, he was out to Beau Webster in the slip off the ball of Scott Boland. Kohli has been out many times in this series before for playing the ball forcibly on the off side.
However, when Steve Smith was asked about this catch during the lunch break, he was adamant that the ball bounced before it could hit the ground, after which Marnus Labuschagne, standing in the lane, caught the catch. .
Overall, it seemed that Virat Kohli was looking to be out for a golden duck after a brilliant team catch by Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, but he was saved by the third umpire.
Just missed a beat there!
ICYMI, #ViratKohli was dropped by #SteveSmith on the very first ball he faced!#AUSvINDOnStar 👉 5th Test, Day 1 LIVE NOW! , #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/iLhCzXCYST
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 3, 2025
After a lengthy review, TV umpire Joel Wilson said he thought Smith had placed the ball on the ground before tossing it to Labuschagne. While former players and umpires had different opinions on this, Glenn McGrath said on ABC Sport that it was right for him.
So this is how the umpires took the decision!
As the Australian players began celebrating loudly and dreaming about Boland’s hat-trick, umpire Sharafuddaula consulted his on-field official Michael Gough and decided to send it to the third umpire.
The video showed the ball going off Smith’s right hand as he dived down, but as he began to loft the ball, from some angles it appeared the ball touched the grass as his thumb touched the ground. The ball was turned in the hand itself.
“100%. No denying it whatsoever.”
Steve Smith weighs in on whether he got his hand beneath the ball in the biggest moment of the morning. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/bqIy8iGIRm
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2025
Rohit is not playing Sydney Test
The last match of the 5-match Test series between India and Australia is being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Indian team is batting first after winning the toss. Rohit Sharma is not playing in this match. In such a situation, Jasprit Bumrah is captaining. Whereas Shubman Gill got a chance to play in place of Rohit.
India’s playing-11 in Sydney Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah (captain) and Mohammed Siraj.
Australia’s playing eleven for the Sydney Test: Sam Constas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
Indian test team’s record in Sydney
Total Test: 13
Won: 1
Losers: 5
Draw: 7
India Vs Australia Test Series H2H
Total Test Series: 28
India won: 11
Australia won: 12
Draw: 5
India’s test series record in Australia
Total Test Series: 13
India won: 2
Australia won: 8
Draw: 3
Team India tour of Australia
22–25 November: 1st Test, Perth (India won by 295 runs)
6–8 December: 2nd Test, Adelaide (Australia win by 10 wickets)
14–18 December: 3rd Test, Brisbane (drawn)
26–30 December: Fourth Test, Melbourne (Australia win by 184 runs)
03-07 January: Fifth Test, Sydney (ongoing)
