'It was brave call. 9 out of 10 times...': Mark Waugh's sharp reaction to Nitin Menon's Kohli call; Gavaskar responds
Former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh however backed umpire Menon for his "brave call", saying that most umpires would have sided with the batter.
When Nathan Lyon had picked two quick wickets in dismissing Cheteshawr Pujara and Shreyas Iyer, Australia had sniffed an opportunity to get extract a lead in the first innings against India in the second Test in New Delhi on Saturday. Former India captain Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, however, had other plans. They set about to rescue India with their valiant 59-run stand. Todd Murphy, Australia's hero from the Nagpur game, removed Jadeja in the afternoon session before a well-set Kohli was removed by debutant Matthew Kuhnemann, but what followed it was a barrage of attack from fans and veterans across social media calling out the controversial dismissal of the ex-India captain. (India vs Australia Live Score, 2nd Test, Day 2)
There was stunned silence from the Kotla crowd when the ball struck Kohli's pads. Only the loud appeal from the Australian team echoed through the walls of the historic venue. On-field umpire Nitin Menon had raised his fingers as soon as Australia appealed. The India batter quickly called for a review. And much to his dismay, the third umpire sided with Menon despite the ball making contact with front pad and bat almost simultaneously. The Hawkeye suggested that the ball would clip the leg stumps.
Kohli was absolutely furious as he made his way back to the pavilion and was footages of him fuming inside the dressing room at the controversial call immediately went viral.
Former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh however backed umpire Menon for his "brave call", saying that most umpires would have sided with the batter.
"It was a brave decision from the umpire against Kohli. Nine out of 10 times you would give that not out. There was too much doubt. If you want to err, you would err on the batter's side," he said during commentary.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, who was part of the panel as well, explained that the third umpire needed to be sure to overturn on-field umpire's decision as the soft signal was out.
"I don't think the problem was whether the ball will hit the stumps or not. It was whether he (Kohli) hit it. It was close. We have to remember that he was given out on field. Now the third umpire needed to be absolutely sure that Kohli hit it first for the decision to be overturned," he said.
India were eventually dismissed for 262 runs, trailing Australia's first-innings total by just one run.
