Virat Kohli survived finding a golden duck by a blade of grass after third umpire Joel Wilson controversially ruled the ball hit the turf as Steve Smith attempted to complete what would have been a bizarre catch against Scott Boland.
Smith dove to his right and grabbed the ball, but threw it as it fell to the turf with Marnus Labuschagne catching it from the gully in the air.
Kohli stood his ground and the umpires called for a review and Australia’s long-time foe Joel Wilson ruled that the ball had just scraped the ground despite replays appearing to show Smith had kept it over from the turf as he rushed full throttle.
Steve Smith celebrates after Virat Kohli gets ahead of the ball to slip the first ball. (Photo by Morgan Hancock – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Former Australian coach Justin Langer in commentary for Seven insisted Boland had been denied a fair dismissal.
“His fingers were under the ball. It seemed to me that he was instinctively trying to throw the ball up. In my opinion, the finger was still under the ball. It should have been a great catch for Australia,” he said.
India had already lost the first two games, with KL Rahul dismissed by Mitchell Starc for four and Boland dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal for 10 via a clean catch at third slip off debutant Beau Webster.
Bumrah praises Rohit for ‘withdrawal’
India will bat first in the must-win fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the SCG, with new captain Jasprit Bumrah winning the toss.
Bumrah’s presence officially confirmed that skipper Rohit Sharma will indeed be sidelined in Sydney, after the story broke the day before the match that he had pulled out of the match amid a miserable run of form.
With fast bowler Akash Deep ruled out due to a back injury, the visitors made two changes, with Shubman Gill replacing Sharma and Prasidh Krishna coming in for his third Test as the third seamer.
Speaking at the toss, Bumrah praised Sharma for his selfless decision to step down.
“Obviously our captain showed leadership – he chose to rest in this game,” he said.
“It shows that there is a lot of unity in our team – there is no selfishness. Whatever is in the best interest of the team, we seek to do.
Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed the hosts’ only change, with all-rounder Beau Webster coming on for his Test debut at the expense of Mitchell Marsh.
While the SCG pitch looked unusually green before the match, former great Mark Waugh described it as a “good toss to lose” for Cummins, while Steve Smith thinks the wicket is “greener than I never seen him.”
Cummins, however, said during the toss that he would have chosen to bat as well.
Marsh praised for touching act towards debutant’s family
Mitchell Marsh may no longer be in the Test squad – but his position as the best guy in Australian cricket remains unquestioned.
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Having been left out of the XI for debutant Beau Webster’s fifth Test amid poor form with the bat, the 33-year-old was praised by Pat Cummins for his classy response to the Tasmanian’s elevation after learning the wrong news of the match. day before.
“The first thing he said was, ‘I can’t wait for Beau to come over there and try,’” Cummins said of Marsh, who also hugged Webster and wished him luck .
The popular all-rounder then took it a step further before playing on the first day, making sure to congratulate all members of the Webster family in attendance on his ample green display.
Webster was quickly into the action on his Test debut, taking a low catch at third slip off Scott Boland to see the back of Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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