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Star India batter Virat Kohli earned a valuable lifeline on the opening day of the fifth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Fans around the world were left shocked after regular skipper Rohit Sharma was rested and star pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named the stand-in captain for the final Test of the five-match series. Opting to bat first, India faced early blows as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were sent back with only on the board. After their dismissals, Kohli joined hands with Shubman Gill, where he survived a close call on the very first delivery that he faced.
Australia pacer Scott Boland almost trapped Kohli as the ball went on to hit the edge and Steve Smith, who was placed at the second slip, took a blinder to dismiss the Indian batter. Smith dived towards the right, grabbed the ball and tossed it upwards as Marnus Labuschagne took the catch.
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
As the Australians were celebrating, the on-field handed over the decision to the third umpire, who then revealed that the ball first touched the ground before Smith got his hands on it. Hence, Kohli got a crucial lifeline on the first delivery.
The drama did not end over here. After the completion of the over, both Kohli and Smith were seen exchanging some words.
During the lunch break, Smith opened up on the incident and stood firm on his stance. He stated that he had got his hands beneath the ball and it was a complete catch.
"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
Even former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting completely disagreed with the third umpire's decision.
"As far as I was concerned, if (the ball) had've come out of (Smith's) hand, he wouldn't have been able to scoop it up. That's what I'm saying, I think his fingers are clearly underneath the ball ... look where his pointer figure is there, it's still underneath the ball,” Ponting said on-air during the commentary with 7Cricket.