Published 22:02 IST, October 19th 2019
Virat Kohli’s nightmare with the DRS system continues yet again
Virat Kohli has been having a disastrous time with the DRS as a batsman. The review once again went against him during the third Test at Ranchi on Saturday.
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Virat Kohli has been brilliantly leading the Indian team in Tests. In fact, India has been the top-ranked Test side since October 2016 under his captaincy. The Virat Kohli-led side are currently dominating the ICC World Test Championship points table with 200 points in four matches. No other team is even closer to them as second-ranked New Zealand are at 60 points. Having already clinched the series, Team India will be aiming for a whitewash at Ranchi. Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first. However, Kohli not only had a forgettable day with the bat but his dismal DRS record continued.
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Virat Kohli's dismal DRS record
Virat Kohli had walked to bat at 16/2 when after losing Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara early. He looked good after having hit two boundaries and just as he was trying to get set, a length ball from Anrich Nortje came in sharply with the angle into the right-hander and there was a loud shout from the Proteas for lbw. The umpire raised his finger. Nonetheless, Kohli had a word with Rohit Sharma and then decided to get the decision reviewed. The ball tracker showed that the ball was clipping the leg stump as the Indian captain had to take a long walk back to the pavilion for a 22-ball 12. Since the umpire had already ruled the batsman out, the umpire's call was taken into consideration. A similar incident had happened when Trent Boult had trapped Kohli during the semi-final of the World Cup 2019 earlier this year and he had to walk back as the umpire had ruled him out when the Kiwis had made an appeal.
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Believe it or not, after Saturday's incident, Virat Kohli had got his ninth straight DRS call wrong. This dismal record had begun in 2017. It all started during the home series against Sri Lanka at the end of 2017. The last time Kohli had got the better of DRS was in the same year against the same opposition at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Check out Virat Kohli's dismal DRS record here.
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Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane’s partnership
After Kohli departed, India were reduced to 39/3 as Ajinkya Rahane joined Rohit Sharma in the middle. The duo then carried out the rescue act for India as they were involved in a 185-run stand for the fourth wicket. The 'Hitman' went on to register his sixth Test century and the third one of this series while Rahane supported him with a good fifty. Just when India geared up on powering its innings, poor lighting played a spoilsport and the play had to be adjourned. The first day's play was stopped shortly after tea due to bad light and rains. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane remained unbeaten on 117 and 83 respectively.
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20:54 IST, October 19th 2019