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Rohit Sharma was tensed like every Indian fan when Virat Kohli was dropped by Steve Smith at 0.
Rohit Sharma.
Virat Kohli narrowly escaped a golden duck in the fifth Test of the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday, with the dramatic event leading Rohit Sharma to jump off his seat.
It unfolded in the eighth over of India’s first innings. Kohli edged a delivery outside the off stump from Scott Boland and it went straight to Steve Smith at the second slip. He dived to his right and scooped the ball towards Marnus Labuschange who completed the catch at the gully.
Smith looked confident but the on-field umpire opted for a review. Replays showed that the ball had touched the ground after it rolled off Smith’s fingers. Third umpire Joel Wilson gave his decision in India’s favor, ruling Kohli not out.
When the TV officials were re-checking the catch, the camera panned towards the Indian dressing room. Rohit, who had ‘opted out’ of playing the Test, appeared to be quite tense, with his eyes glued to the giant screen.
Once the final call was made, the opener finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat back at ease. Fans at the SCG caught his tension on their cameras.
As the TV umpire was reviewing Virat Kohli’s catch, Captain Rohit Sharma was seen looking worriedly at the big screen on the field from the Indian dressing room.🥹❤️ #INDvsAUSThe selfless man who always thinking about team @ImRo45 🐐🙇🏼♂️ pic.twitter.com/uzc5OZxRVT
— 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) January 3, 2025
Smith was seen nodding his head in disbelief. The Australian star even exchanged some words with Kohli before returning to his fielding position. During the lunch break, Smith shared his thoughts about the missed opportunity. He claimed that his fingers were beneath the ball.
Former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting also criticized the third umpire’s decision. “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 7Cricket.
Boland finally got rid of Kohli with a similar delivery in the 32nd over. This time, Beau Webster took an easy catch at the slips as the Indian batter returned to the hut with 17 runs. He managed to survive 64 balls.
The other top-order batters also failed miserably as India wrapped up their innings at 185. Australia finished the day at 9/1.
- Location :
Sydney, Australia