It was a bizarre moment when Virat Kohli was delivered a bouncer by Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir. The Indian captain attempted a hook shot but missed making connect with the ball during the India-Pakistan game at ICC World Cup 2019. The ball settled in Pakistan skipper and stumper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s gloves
Manchester: Every bowler dreams of taking India captain Virat Kohli’s wicket. But when it is gift-wrapped to the bowler by the skipper himself, how will that be and that too in a high-pressure India-Pakistan contest?
Yes, it happened at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday (June 16) at the ICC World Cup 2019. Kohli decided to walk even though he had not edged the ball to the wicketkeeper.
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It was a bizarre moment when Kohli was delivered a bouncer by Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir. The Indian captain attempted a hook shot but missed making connect with the ball. The ball settled in Pakistan skipper and stumper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s gloves.
Amir appealed for a wicket but umpire Marais Erasmus of South Africa said no. But to the shock of the fans, umpire and the Pakistani fielders, Kohli started to walk.
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Later, the TV replays showed there was no edge. Also, ‘UltraEdge’ did not show any spike. When the cameras zoomed towards the Indian dressing room, Kohli was seen checking his bat handle and was clearly upset that he had walked off despite no edge. Also, MS Dhoni was checking Kohli’s bat.
On air, former India captain Sourav Ganguly said sometimes batsmen might feel the sound of bat hitting ball mistakenly due to the creak of the bat handle. It was a huge moment as Kohli went back for a well-made 65-ball 77. There were still 14 balls remaining at the stage and India could have crossed 350 if Kohli had stayed till the end.
"Loose grip, sometimes it can click," felt former England captain Kevin Pietersen in Star Sports studio.
India posted 336/5 in 50 overs thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 24th ODI hundred (140). Rohit’s new opening partner KL Rahul scored a half century (57).
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