[Watch] Virat Kohli changes India's luck by swapping bails 5 balls before Jasprit Bumrah breaks big partnership

Virat Kohli swapping the bails in Centurion.
Virat Kohli swapping the bails in Centurion.

Virat Kohli did a Stuart Broad in Centurion on Wednesday by swapping the bails at the striker's end a few balls before Jasprit Bumrah broke a big partnership between Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi for South Africa.

It happened between the 27th and the 28th overs. Kohli while swapping fielding ends went to the striker's end to switch the bails. Bumrah's first five balls of the 28th over saw four dots and a boundary. On the sixth, he bowled a brilliant length ball in the channel that took the outside edge to the slip cordon.

Check the video here:

Kohli could have been inspired by the English pacer Broad. During the second Test of the 2023 Ashes, Broad switched the bails after being palpably frustrated by Marnus Labuschagne's chances-filled knock of nine off 81. Labuschagne coincidentally edged one behind against Mark Wood on the next ball.

"I've heard it's an Aussie change of luck thing," Broad said after the day's plan. "I've seen Nathan Lyon do it. We had a few play and misses in the morning session and we needed to make a breakthrough and I thought: 'I'll have a little change of the bails."
"It just worked out pretty magically that he nicked the next ball and Rooty took a great catch. I randomly went and celebrated with Uzzy for some reason. 'If you touch my bails I'm flipping them straight back.' So he gave me an immediate warning," he added.

Unlike Labuschagne, though, de Zrozi didn't give the Indians a lot of chances. The hosts didn't help themselves either by using Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur in the first hour after Lunch instead of Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj who looked in much better form.

Virat Kohli bail swap brings two quick wickets for India

Bumrah followed the de Zrozi wicket by getting the new batter Keegan Petersen out in the next over as well, with the right-hander playing one back to his stumps off a big drive away from his body.

Catch the live-action here.

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