Third Umpire Saves Kohli from Golden Duck; Smith Shocked After Stunning Effort -Watch

In Sydney, during the first day of the fifth Test match between India and Australia, the star batter Virat Kohli hit the ball it took the edge of his bat, and Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne dove to catch it. However, The drama unfolded when the third umpire decided the catch wasn’t clean.

India's openers, KL Rahul with just 4 runs and Yashasvi Jaiswal with 10 had been taken out pretty quickly, making it a rough start at 17 for 2. Kohli came into bat at number 4, he hit the first ball from Scott Boland, sending it toward the slips. At the beginning, some players from Australia, including Smith and Labuschagne, were sure they caught him out.

Smith believed he secured catching the ball by jumping to his right and somehow managing to scoop it with his fingers. After that, he threw the ball into the air, and Labuschagne took it but the surprising part is, the umpires on the field were all confused, unsure if that catch was clean, so they decided to check the catch in replay.

Just missed a beat there! 🥶

ICYMI, #ViratKohli was dropped by #SteveSmith on the very first ball he faced!#AUSvINDOnStar 👉 5th Test, Day 1 LIVE NOW! | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/iLhCzXCYST

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 3, 2025

When the third umpire watched the replay, they saw that before Smith pushed it, the ball actually bounced off the ground first.

During the lunch break, Smith spoke to Fox Cricket. He confidently said the catch was clean but accepted the official's decision. "Did you get your hand under the ball?" commentator Isa Guha asked. Smith replied, "100%, no doubt about it. But the umpires made their call, and we move on."

"100%. No denying it whatsoever."

Steve Smith weighs in on whether he got his hand underneath the ball in the biggest moment of the morning. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/bqIy8iGIRm

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2025

When the decision was announced on the big screen, Kohli shook his head and smiled faintly.

By lunch, India was struggling at 57 for 3. Shubman Gill (20) got out to Nathan Lyon on the last ball before the break, leaving Kohli at 20 not out. After lunch, Rishabh Pant joined him at the crease.

India won the toss and chose to bat. They made a few changes to the team, and Jasprit Bumrah took over as the new leader. Shubman Gill came in to replace Rohit, and since Akash Deep had a bad back and couldn't play, Prasidh Krishna was added to the team.

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