Virat Kohli gathers KKR players after RCB loss to explain his contentious dismissal despite broadcaster's clarification

11 days ago | 17 Views

Virat Kohli never seemed to move on from his dismissal that created quite stir in Indian cricket in the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. And probably hit hard, after RCB succumbed to a one-run loss in the daunting chase of 223, thus incurring a brutal blow to their playoffs chances.

In the third over of RCB's chase, Kohli was dismissed caught and bowled by a high full-toss delivery from Harshit Rana. Kohli quickly revolted, calling for a no ball, followed by RCB skipper Faf du Plessis after the umpire signalled it out.

The replay by the third umpire however revealed that although at the point of contact with the ball, the delivery was above Kohli's waist, the batter was standing well outside the crease. Using the new Hawk-eye technology for no balls, introduced in IPL this season, the umpire concluded that had Kohli faced the ball at the popping crease, the ball would not have been waist high.

Hence, the decision of the on-field umpire remained as Kohli was adjudged out, leaving the former RCB captain fuming. He charged at the umpire to voice his opinion on the dismissal before hurling a mouthful on his way back to the pavilion.

The broadcasters later showed a detailed explanation of why Kohli was given out saying that Kohli's waist is 1.04 metres high, as revealed through the date taken by the IPL for every batter in a bid to counter such controversies, while the delivery was 0.92 metres at the the probable point of contact had the batter stood upright at the popping crease. Kohli was seen having a look at the display when it was shown on the giant screen. Yet, he didn't seem convinced enough.

After the match, as the KKR players, along with captain Shreyas Iyer, gathered around Kohli to pick his brains, a footage of that moment indicated that the former India captain was gesturing with his hand in a manner of showing where the ball was at the point of contact during his dismissal.

The 35-year-old also had a chat with the on-field umpire after the match ended with Kohli animatedly placing his opinion on the dismissal.

Kohli will be back in action on Thursday when Sunrisers Hyderabad host RCB at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.