Australia debutant Matthew Kuhnemann made a dream start to his Test career as he scalped the big wicket of Virat Kohli on day 2 of the 2nd Test match against India. The left-arm spinner bowled tirelessly on day 2 without much reward. In the 2nd second session, he finally trapped Kohli in front of the stumps to give Australia a big breakthrough.
But there was some controversy in Kohli’s dismissal as the replays couldn’t clearly show if the ball had touched the bat first or pad first. The replays hinted that the ball hit the bat first but it wasn’t conclusive. The third umpire sided with the on-field umpire and went for ball tracking after assuming that it hit the pad first.
The replays showed that the ball was just marginally hitting the stumps, which further added to Kohli’s frustration. Under the laws, the batsman has to depart as the third umpire cannot overturn the on-field umpire’s call if the ball is hitting the stumps.
Virat Kohli was clearly frustrated with the decision and looked at the on-field umpire on his way back to the pavilion. He controlled his aggression and silently walked back. Kohli watched the replays in the dressing room and wasn’t happy with the decision. Even the coaches were unimpressed.
Kohli missed out on a big knock and departed for a well-made 44 off 88 balls. The former India captain added a crucial 59-run partnership for the 5th wicket with Ravindra Jadeja before the all-rounder got out. He only added 10 runs with R Ashwin before being dismissed. Kohli has been dismissed in this manner a couple of times.
Australia quickly got the wicket of KS Bharat and left India reeling at 139/7. All-rounders Ashwin and Axar Patel have their task cut out and will hope that India manage to get a lead. Australia were bowled out for 263.
