[Watch] “KL’s was the same in Perth” - Virat Kohli takes a dig at umpires over Mitchell Marsh lbw controversy in BGT 2024-25 2nd Test
Team India's batting star Virat Kohli argued with on-field umpire Richard Illingworth over Mitchell Marsh's contentious lbw decision on Day 2 of the second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Kohli mentioned how KL Rahul being given out in the first Test was equally debatable as a video of the same surfaced on social media.
The incident occurred in the second-last over before the dinner break as Marsh stepped out to defend a delivery from Ravichandran Ashwin. With the on-field umpire turning down Ashwin's appeal, the veteran off-spinner convinced Rohit Sharma to take the review. With the West Australian's bat closer to the pad, third umpire Richard Kettleborough decided that it was bat first, with the visitors losing their review.
The incident was similar to the previous Test in Perth when it was inconclusive whether the ball hit KL Rahul's bat or was it the bat striking the pad through to the keeper. With the umpire ruling it out caught behind, controversy erupted even then.
Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh batted through to the dinner break with Australia into the lead
Meanwhile, the home side walked into the dinner break with a lead of 11, helped by half-centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head. Nitish Kumar Reddy got the better of Labuschagne just before dinner for 64 in what was a timely strike for them. Earlier on Day 2, Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Nathan McSweeney and Steve Smith to apply the pressure on Australia.
Day 1 of the Test saw Rohit Sharma opting to bat first but Mitchell Starc emerged as the star of the show, making the pink ball talk to pick up six scalps. The left-arm speedster nipped out Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, and Reddy. Later, Bumrah nipped out Usman Khawaja but McSweeney and Labuschagne battled hard under the lights to get through to Stumps at 86/1.