Virat Kohli has survived being out for a golden duck by a blade of grass after third umpire Joel Wilson controversially ruled the ball touched the turf as Steve Smith tried to complete what would have been a bizarre catch off Scott Boland.
Smith dived to his right and grasped the ball but flicked it up as he fell to the turf, with Marnus Labuschagne snaring it from gully mid-air.
Kohli stood his ground and the umpires called for a review and Australia’s long-time nemesis, Joel Wilson, ruled the ball had just scraped the ground despite replays appearing to show Smith had kept it above the turf as he hurled himself at full stretch.
Smith, when asked in a Seven interview at the end of the first session, whether he took the chance, replied: “100%. No denying it whatsoever but the umpire’s made the decision, we’ll move on.”
Former Australia coach Justin Langer on Seven commentary was adamant that Boland was denied a fair dismissal while Glenn McGrath said Kohli should have been happy to take Smith’s word and walk to the pavilion.
As he has done all series, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar defended the touring team over a contentious incident.
“When the ball was about to land, his right index finger was under it. But then he wasn’t able to control it and then I think the ball slipped out just a little bit and grazed the ground,” Gavaskar said.
“That is what the TV evidence showed. Just a little bit there. That’s a tremendous effort but … that is what the umpire thought.
“There, just a little portion of the ball. It doesn’t have to be the whole … even part of the ball touching the ground means the catch has been grounded.
“Kohli hasn’t had much luck in this series. Maybe that is just the little bit of luck that he needs.”
Langer was certain Wilson should have awarded the wicket.
“In my opinion, from what I’ve seen there, that makes it more obvious to me that that should have been out. Steve Smith had his fingers, and you could see he was flicking the ball up,” he said.
“It was brilliant what he did, to have his fingers under the ball, and he flicked it up deliberately, and in my opinion, that’s out.
“Instinctively, he’s looking to flick the ball straight up. In my view, his fingers were still under the ball, and that should have been a great catch for Australia.”
Fellow commentator James Brayshaw suggested Kohli should even have walked.
“From a batting point of view, if you’re the batsman and that happens and you see that replay, are you happily going or are you arguing?” he asked.
“For me, you are going, you know what? I hear the argument. But I’m taking that. I’m taking that as fair enough.”
McGrath said he would have given Kohli out.
“I think majority of those catches, they review and give a not-out. I reckon 99% of them are out. It is just the angle you look at it and you think did it or did it not touch the grass,” he said.
“To me it was in control until his hand came off the ground and popped out. Again, I guess depends on which side of the fence you are sitting on. If I’m batting out there, I’m happy to walk. But then most of the time I was happy to walk.”
Ricky Ponting said it was reminiscent of Mitchell Starc’s catch in the 2023 Ashes which was also overturned.
“They have actually just changed that interpretation in the last couple of years. If you remember back to Lords, Starc’s catch, where he took the catch high above the ground, controlled the ball, but when he hit the ground the ball went along the surface that way,” the former Australian captain said on Seven.
“His hand and fingers were on top. That was deemed to be potentially keeping the ball in your hand.
“You can see Smith’s fingers clearly underneath the ball. And then Joel said that it rolled out the side, touched the ground, but as far as I was concerned, if it had have come out of his hand he wouldn’t have been able to scoop it up.
“The ball would have rolled away to the side if the ball came out of his hand. I think he still had control of the ball, even though the ball had touched the grass.
“If you read the interpretation and the law, I’m not sure we got the right decision there.”
Former Test player Mark Waugh in commentary for Fox Cricket said “I think that’s given out nearly every day of the week, to be honest”.
However, ex-India coach Ravi Shastri was less convinced.
“I think the right decision in the end because there was an element of doubt,” he said.
“When you see it that many times on the replay and you’re not convinced, it invariably goes in favour of the batsman. If there is a split of the fingers, the chances of the ball touching the grass is much more.”
Former ICC umpire Simon Taufel said on Seven that he could understand how Wilson made the decision but added that the on-field officials were powerless to make a call because there is no longer a “soft signal” playing condition.
“He believes, through those pictures, that he’s clearly seen the ball on the ground. And here’s the challenge with slowing it right down, the super slow-mo. If you play that at real speed, then it looks pretty good,” he said.
“I can certainly understand what the third umpire has done there. Normally, the ICC protocol on fair catches is, if you see the fingers underneath the ball, that’s good to maintain a fair catch. But here’s the problem. The umpires no longer have to solve signal and make the decision.
“It’s purely in the hands of the television umpire.”
India had already lost both openers with KL Rahul dismissed by Mitchell Starc for four and Boland removing Yashasvi Jaiswal for 10 via a sharp catch at third slip to debutant Beau Webster.
Kohli survived the first session to be 12 not out from 48 deliveries but Subman Gill fell to Nathan Lyon, caught by Smith at slip, with the final ball before lunch to leave India in strife at 3-57.
Bumrah praises Rohit for ‘opting out’
India opted to bat first in the must-win fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the SCG, with new captain Jasprit Bumrah winning the toss.
Bumrah’s presence officially confirmed that skipper Rohit Sharma will indeed be on the sidelines in Sydney, after the story broke on match eve that he had stood himself down from the match amid a wretched run of form.
With fast bowler Akash Deep ruled out due to a back injury, the visitors made two changes, with Shubman Gill replacing Sharma and Prasidh Krishna coming in for his third Test as the third seamer.
Speaking at the toss, Bumrah praised Sharma for his selfless decision to step aside.
“Obviously our captain has shown his leadership – he’s opted to rest in this game,” he said.
“That shows that there’s a lot of unity in our team – there’s no selfishness. Whatever is in the team’s best interests, we are looking to do that.”
Australian captain Pat Cummins confirmed the hosts’ sole change, with all-rounder Beau Webster coming in for his Test debut at the expense of Mitchell Marsh.
With the SCG pitch looking uncharacteristically green heading into the match, former great Mark Waugh described it as a ‘good toss to lose’ for Cummins, while Steve Smith believes the wicket is ‘greener than I’ve ever seen it’.
Cummins, however, said at the toss he would have chosen to bat as well.
Marsh praised for touching act for debutant’s family
Mitchell Marsh may no longer be in the Test team – but his standing as the best bloke in Australian cricket remains unchallenged.
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Having been omitted from the XI for the fifth Test for debutant Beau Webster amid a poor run of form with the bat, the 33-year old was praised by Pat Cummins for his classy response to the Tasmanian’s elevation after being told the bad news on match eve.
“The first thing he said was, ‘I can’t wait for Beau to go out there and give it a crack’,” Cummins said of Marsh, who also gave Webster a hug and wished him good luck.
The popular all-rounder then went a step further before play on Day 1, making sure to congratulate every member of Webster’s family on hand for his baggy green presentation.
Webster was quickly into the action on Test debut, plucking a low catch at third slip off Scott Boland to see the back of Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.