It was an unusual sight on a cricket field. Indian captain Virat Kohli stood adamantly though he was clean bowled by Moeen Ali in the second Test against England being played at Chennai.
One needs a review when edged a delivery, but with bails lying on the ground it is a norm to leave the ground, instead of asking for a review on the big screen in stadium.
Kohli did it. A hero and batting superstar for cricket crazy Indians, was cheered by a 15,000-strong crowd on the opening morning of the Test match.
The usual turning wickets of India, made it difficult for him to open his account on first four deliveries he faced. Moeen Ali’s fifth delivery, tossed up outside off stump, tempted Kohli into an ambitious cover drive.
The ball turned sharply, went between bat and pad and clipped the top of middle and off stump and bails flew in the air before falling on the ground behind Kohli.
Jubilation in English team. There cheers reverberated in the stadium as crowd fell silent. But Kohli just stood there.
A look of disbelief etched on his face as he glanced at the scattered bails, and he looked pleadingly towards partner Rohit Sharma.
The umpire even had to ask for the replay to be shown on the big screen before Kohli finally left the field, still struggling to grasp what had happened to him.
The last person that stood like that after being clean bowled was W G Grace.
Legend has it that Grace refused to walk and once said “they came to see me bat, not you umpire” when given out lbw.
It was only the second time Kohli had been bowled by an off-spinner in 89 Tests.
However, at the close on first day India was happily placed at 300 for the loss of six wickets due to Rohit Sharma’s 161.
