Virat Kohli’s tryst with the Decision Review System (DRS) shows no sign of getting better after the Indian Test captain was given out lbw by umpire Nigel Llong off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood in controversial circumstances just before tea on day three of the second Test between India and Australia.
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The right-hander was given out LBW by the umpire on 15 and although replays showed that the ball went on to hit the stumps, the impact looked like it was simultaneously hitting both the bat and the pad. But the third umpire ruled that there was no conclusive proof to overturn the on-field umpire’s decision and hence Kohli was sent to the pavilion.
What was most surprising was the umpire decision in the first place took everyone by surprise. Josh Hazlewood had a muted appeal for leg before and Virat Kohli knew that he had hit the ball so was surprised to see the finger go up and reviewed immediately.
Kohli had no hesitation in going for the review as he knew that he had hit and the third umpire certainly took his to review whether he did or not. Although it did look as though it was going to hit the stumps, the question of whether it hit the bat or pad first was always going to be the big question.
It clearly looked as though the ball hit the pad and the bat at the same even if the initial response and Kohli’s immediate review suggested that it hit the bat first. and the more the video was slowed down, the more inconsistent it became.
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The replays didn't seem extremely conclusive at establishing what the ball hit first.
It was the split screen of the ball's first impact that continued to highlight the fact that it was inconclusive even more. Although it seems like the ball hit the bat and pad at the same time, there was no conclusive proof that the ball hit the bat first, which was what was required.
The impact was umpire’s call and everything else was red. And since the umpire’s original decision was out, the decision was not overturned and Kohli had to walk back after another failure with the bat.
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However, this DRS call was marginal at best and the Indian captain could certainly count himself unlucky to be given out, even though his DRS review seemed perfectly valid. And the fact that he walked off in a fit of rage knowing he had hit the ball shows that the decision was by no means an open and shut chase.
The fans on twitter certainly had their say on the whole issue.
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