Mumbai, December 3: Virat Kohli returned to the Test arena on Friday (December 3) during the second Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium. But it did not turn out to be a grand return to Test cricket for King Kohli.
Of course, Kohli started off his first day in Test cricket since July on a bright note when he won the toss and elected to bat on a partially sunny morning in Mumbai, that saw the entire first session getting abandoned due to overnight rain and damp field conditions.
It seemed a good call too as openers Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal piled runs at a good clip as India reached 80 for no loss in the 28th over. India poised to make big gains in that extended first session.
But Kiwis left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel had other ideas as first he trapped Gill with a beautifully flighted ball that took the edge of his bat and flew to Ross Taylor at first slip.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been struggling for runs recently, did not last long as Patel bowled him as the batsman tried to come down the pitch and play him. Pujara played all over it to get castled.
In came Kohli and he would have hoped to cash in on the luck that he experienced through winning the toss. But all of it lasted only for 4 balls.
The Indian skipper pushed forward against Patel and the bat was close to his pads even as the ball thudded on to Kohli’s pads. Patel and New Zealand players went up in a vociferous appeal. The on-field umpire Anil Chaudhary held the appeal after pondering over the decision and Kohli immediately reviewed it.
Third umpire took his time to evaluate the call of on-field umpires but could not trace any evidence that could overrule Chaudhary’s decision. Even the ball-tracking mechanism showed that the ball was pitched in line and would go in to hit the stumps.
Kohli was not really pleased with the decision but he had no choice but to walk off a disgruntled man, as his last century still dated back to 2019.
Inside Edge released for everyone on @PrimeVideoIN but not for this third umpire. 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/W8Po7WGSQq
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) December 3, 2021
Clearly see there was deviation. Ball hit bat first. Virat Kohli immediately take review. Third umpire doing such mistake. Nothing is going good for Virat Kohli. #IndvsNZtest #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/P3Ugpa3rY3
— Arjit Gupta (@guptarjit) December 3, 2021