"He also knew the ball hasn't hit the bat" - Aakash Chopra on controversy around Virat Kohli's LBW in 2nd SL vs IND ODI
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that during his controversial LBW decision in India's second ODI defeat against Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli knew he hadn't hit the ball despite Ultra-Edge showing a spike when the ball went past his bat. Kohli was adjudged LBW when he missed the flick against an Akila Dananjaya off-spinner in the 15th over.
He reviewed the decision immediately and although there was daylight between the bat and the ball, Ultra-Edge showed some movement, prompting the third umpire to advise reversing the on-field call.
"Kohli's dismissal was very interesting," Chopra said in his latest YouTube video (5:12) on his channel 'Aakash Chopra.' "The ball hit his back-pad and he reviewed immediately. But he also knew the ball hasn't hit the bat. But Ultra Edge said it had! It became a big issue because everyone felt it could have been Akila Dananjaya's wicket."
Kohli offered a smile seeing that on the split screen while the Sri Lankans were miffed. Kusal Mendis threw his helmet onto the ground in disappointment, skipper Charith Asalanka went to umpire Raveendra Wimalasiri and even head coach Sanath Jayasuriya left the dressing room to speak to the reserve umpire.
But the luck didn't last long as Kohli got out to Jeffrey Vandersay soon after. The leg-spinner went on to take a six-wicket haul, running riot on India's batting order and exposing their issues against spin once again.
Trying to explain this pattern, Chopra said:
"Even if the opposition bowlers aren't of great quality, we are struggling," he said (6:10). "You know why? Because we are not longer used to these wickets. We play very well on flat tracks, even spin, better than most teams. We also bowl better spin on flatter tracks. But when the ball is turning, we fall on our knees."
Chopra also made a mention of skipper Rohit Sharma who top-scored with a 64 (44) in the match, saying he's the only one who's managing spin effectively.
"Sometimes he even shows that footwork is overrated" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma
Further speaking on Rohit in the same video, Chopra said his standing shots are making a basic thing like footwork look overrated.
"Rohit has been batting really well, hitting sixes while standing still..." Chopra said (3:30). "He has hit 302 sixes as an opener which is only behind Chris Gayle in ODIs. Sometimes he even shows that footwork is overrated... He's even doing it against spin.
"He has hit two half-centuries in consecutive matches so he's doing his job and scoring quickly so others can take their time."
India lost the game by 32 runs, conceding a 1-0 lead in the series. The third and final ODI of the series will be held on Wednesday (August 7).