WTC Final: Virat Kohli miffed at umpires' decision to review despite no DRS call by NZ

Skipper Virat Kohli led Team India's batting attack from the front after they lost wickets in quick succession during the ICC WTC Final against New Zealand at Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday. 

However, there was one such incident that made Virat Kohli angry as it had everything to do with the on-field umpire's decision during a review.

WTC Final: Umpire's decision during review leaves Virat Kohli miffed

It happened in the 40th over of India's first innings that was bowled by New Zealand's pace spearhead Trent Boult. On the final delivery, Boult had bowled a wide delivery that just managed to beat Kohli and was collected by BJ Watling behind the stumps after which they appealed for caught behind. What really stood out here is that the bowler Trent Boult was pretty much convinced that Virat Kohli had nicked the ball and he wanted to get it reviewed instantly.

Nonetheless, Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson was really confused even though he did seem to take the review initially. Surprisingly, when the 15-second timer ran out, the two on-field umpires- Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth had a word with each other and they unanimously decided to escalate the matter to the third umpire. At the same time, the soft signal was out.

This did not go down well with Virat Kohli as he was seen having a discussion with the umpires to understand what the matter was since it was not a DRS call in the first place and luckily for him, the UltraEdge showed that there was a huge gap between the bat and pad as it helped him in prolonging his stay at the wicket. 

This incident left many viewers puzzled and former Indian vice-captain Virender Sehwag was one of them. Taking to the micro-blogging site, Sehwag wrote 'Funny umpiring there with Virat. No decision given by the umpire and it automatically became a review'.

As per the playing conditions,  the umpires were well within rights. According to Law 2.2.3 of the ICC Test Playing Conditions  that deals with Caught Decisions and Obstructing the Field,

“The third umpire shall determine whether the batsman has been caught, whether the delivery was a Bump Ball, or if the batsman obstructed the field. However, in reviewing the television replay(s), the third umpire shall first check the fairness of the delivery for all decisions involving a catch (all modes of No ball except for the bowler using an Illegal Bowling Action, subject to the proviso that the third umpire may review whether the bowler has used a prohibited Specific Variation under Article 6.2 of the Illegal Bowling Regulations) and whether the batsman has hit the ball.

"If the delivery was not a fair delivery or if it is clear to the third umpire that the batsman did not hit the ball he/she shall indicate to the bowler’s end umpire that the batsman is Not out caught, and in the case of an unfair delivery, advise the bowler’s end umpire to signal No ball. See also paragraph 2.5 below. Additionally, if it is clear to the third umpire that the batsman is Out by another mode of dismissal (excluding LBW), or Not out by any mode of dismissal (excluding LBW), he/she shall notify the bowler’s end umpire so that the correct decision can be made.”
 

Coming back to the WTC Final, the coin landed in New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson's favour and he invited Kohli & Co. to bat first.  Indian skipper Virat Kohli's discipline on a moving track has kept his team's momentum intact. Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had seen off the new ball well and added 62 runs for the opening stand before the duo was dismissed. Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara then tried to rebuild the Indian innings before the latter's dismissal post-lunch. 

Nonetheless, Kohli and his Test deputy Ajinkya Rahane ensured that there were no further hiccups as they took to score to 146/3 in the 65th over before bad light resulted in an early stoppage of play. Ajinkya Rahane remained unbeaten on 29 off 79 deliveries whereas, Virat Kohli is eyeing his 26th Test half-century as he was also unbeaten on 44 off 124 deliveries.