New Delhi: Virat Kohli survived a controversial moment in the morning session of the opening day of the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. Under pressure to score runs, Kohli was fortunate to survive a close call on the very first ball he faced off Scott Boland. It could have been a lot worse for India, who had lost both the openers early in overcast conditions at SCG but fortune favoured the Delhi batter, who has failed to fire with the bat since his 30th Test century in the series opener at Perth.
Kohli’s golden-duck moment added more drama to an already eventful morning, which saw stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah, take charge in place of Rohit Sharma who had “opted to rest”, and chose to bat first after winning the toss on a green SCG pitch.
Kohli survives a close call on first ball
Boland made an instant impact by dismissing Jaiswal for 10 and could have two in two when Kohli nicked his first delivery to Steve Smith in the slips. An acrobatic Smith appeared to take the catch but passed the ball brilliantly to a nearby fielder after losing his balance.
However, Australia’s celebrations were shortlived as the replays showed that Smith had grassed the chance with the ball touching the ground while passing it to the other fielder. The replays were inconclusive and TV umpire Joel Wilson, after multiple replays, ruled the decision in favour of India and Kohli.
The home side thought they had Kohli for a golden duck after an incredible effort from Smith but were left disappointed by the third umpire’s decision.
Earlier, stand-in skipper Bumrah chose to bat first in overcast conditions as India made two changes. While Rohit made way for Shubman Gill, injured Akash Deep was replaced by Prasidh Krishna.
Australia gave tall all-rounder Beau Webster a debut after deciding to exclude Mitchell Marsh from the playing X1.
India lost both their openers inside 10 overs with KL Rahul perishing following an innocuous flick straight to square leg and Jaiswal edging one in the slip cordon where Webster took his maiden international catch. Star batter Virat Kohli survived a close call on the first ball he faced in the fifth and final Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
