‘Not Out’ : Michael Vaughan gives his verdict on controversial dismissal of Virat Kohli
Day 1 of the second Test between India and New Zealand saw a very controversial moment when Virat Kohli was declared LBW by the third umpire despite the replays showing that the ball might have kissed the bat before hitting the pad.
After a good opening stand of 80, India lost two back to back wickets of Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara. A lot was expected of Virat Kohli, but the batter was declared LBW on just his fourth delivery. However, the skipper was sure that he hit the ball and decided to challenge the decision. The replays showed that the ball might have hit the bat before hitting the pad but they were not very conclusive. The third umpire then ruled the decision against Kohli.
Kohli was dejected after the dismissal and so were the fans. Several experts also felt that Kohli hit the ball. The latest to join the bandwagon is former England skipper Michael Vaughan. Taking to Twitter, Vaughan wrote “Not Out”, referring to Kohli’s dismissal.
Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara also endured a poor outing and was dismissed for a duck. However, Mayank Agarwal scored a magnificent hundred to give India an edge after Day 1. The hosts ended Day 1 at 221-4, with Agarwal unbeaten at 120 and Wridhhiman Saha batting at 25. Earlier, India were forced to make a few changes in the team after Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma were ruled out due to injuries, making way for Virat Kohli, Jayant Yadav and Mohammed Siraj.