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Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has been the best batter of the modern generation. In the recently concluded Delhi Test, he became the fastest to score 25,000 runs in international cricket.
Some of Kohli’s most iconic performances have come against Australia in all three formats of the game. From his maiden Test hundred in Adelaide to his match-winning run-chase in Mohali, he loves playing against Australia.
However, there have been a few contentious decisions against the modern-day great in these high-intensity encounters against Australia. Let's revisit three such instances in this article.
3 times Virat Kohli was controversially given out against Australia
#1 2nd Test, Delhi 2023
This dismissal is the most recent entrant on this list. Virat Kohli batted extremely well as he looked to rescue India after a top-order collapse. He built a crucial partnership with Ravindra Jadeja to bring his side back into the game.
However, he was adjudged LBW off a delivery bowled by debutant left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann. The point of contention was whether the ball hit the bat or the pad first. It appeared to be a really close call. The on-field umpire, Nitin Menon, seemed to think that it hit the pad first. Kohli also reviewed it, thinking it might go down the leg.
His dismissal in the second Test versus New Zealand in 2021 was very similar. In that game, it was left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel who got the better of him.
#2 2nd Test, Perth 2018
Virat Kohli played arguably one of his best Test knocks in this encounter. He walked out to bat when India were 8/2 after Australia scored 326 runs in their first innings. He was at his fluent best throughout the course of the innings as he brought up his 25th Test century. The captain's presence at the crease allowed team India to fight back from a top-order collapse. However, the method of his dismissal turned out to be controversial.
He attempted to drive the ball bowled by Pat Cummins, but only got a thick edge that flew to the slips, where Peter Handscomb dove low to his right and took it inches off the ground. According to the replays, he had his fingers underneath, but it was not clear if any part of the ball touched the grass. It was a tough choice that probably had a defining impact on the match as well as on the series.
#3 2nd Test, Bangalore 2017
Virat Kohli was adjudged lbw for just 15 runs after getting trapped by a Josh Hazlewood delivery that stayed low and jagged back into the right-hander. While the players waited and a billion fans crossed their fingers, third umpire Richard Kettleborough reviewed countless replays to determine whether the ball struck the bat or the pad first.
Snicko and split-screen replays revealed that the impact between the ball, pad, and bat was nearly simultaneous. Kettleborough found the vision inconclusive and had no choice but to stick with Llong's on-field decision.
"I don't think I have any conclusive evidence to say that is definitely bat first, so let's move on to ball tracking, please," Kettleborough said during his deliberation.
