Published 17:57 IST, February 15th 2021
Kohli fumes at umpire as Joe Root survives on day 3, netizens enraged over 'Umpire's Call'
Debutant Axar Patel, who dismissed Root in the first innings of the game, had another chance to bag the prized wicket of the England skipper but was denied
With India now needing only seven wickets to clinch the second match of the Test series against England, Kohli & Co. have put on their striking shoes to repeat their doings of the first innings. After Ravichandran Ashwin's gritty century on day 3 at the Chepauk, the local lad returned in the final minutes of the play to do what he does best. While Ashwin dismissed Rory Burns, Axar Patel accounted for Dom Sibley and nightwatchman Jack Leach before Joe Root joined Daniel Lawrence in the middle.
Debutant Axar Patel, who dismissed Root in the first innings of the game, had another chance to bag the prized wicket of the England skipper but was denied by the third umpire. In the last over of the game on day 3, fiery India pounced on England as the visitors were already on backfoot, having lost three wickets already. On the very first delivery, Patel trapped Root right before the wicket leading to loud shouts of appeal by the Indians.
Root survives, Kohli fumes
As umpire Nitin Menon turned down the wicket appeal, Virat Kohli decided against it and sent it up for a review. However, luck seemed to have been with Root as the batsman survived the dismissal. Ball-tracking showed two reds but for impact, it left it to the call of on-ground umpire allowing Root's stay at the crease. The ball had got as close as it could get to the stumps only to be deflected by Root's pads and a misjudgement by the on-ground umpire provided the English skipper with another life.
While India retained the review, skipper Virat Kohli wasn't impressed a bit and was seen remonstrating the umpire. After exchanging a few words, Kohli returned to his fielding position but returned to protest after the end of play on day 3. Even Head Coach Ravi Shastri seemed to have been criticising the decision from the dressing room. The decision which deprived India of the prized wicket of Joe Root has also raised questions over the rule of 'Umpires Call' as netizens raged on Twitter against the decision.
Here's how Twitter exploded:
Ashwin's masterclass at Chepauk
After having registered his 29th five-for on Sunday, Ravichandran Ashwin led the Indian attack on day 3 as he notched up his fifth Test ton on a dusty Chennai pitch. The Indian bowling all-rounder stitched a significant 100-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli after the hosts lost half their side cheaply. Ashwin smashed 14 fours and 2 maximums as he extended India's lead to over 450 before England dismissed the whole side. Ashwin's gritty century to extend India's lead has been lauded by several veterans of the game terming his knock as a 'masterclass' for how to play on the Chepauk pitch. After losing 3 wickets for 53 runs, England needs 429 runs to win the match in the remaining two days of play.
Updated 17:57 IST, February 15th 2021