Virat Kohli got an early reprieve in his innings after a contentious decision for a catch went in his favour on day one of the Pink Test between Australia and India in Sydney.
The incident happened in the eighth over when Kohli, facing his first ball, edged Scott Boland to Smith at second slip. The fielder dived low to his right, scooping the ball towards gully, where Marnus Labuschagne took an easy catch.
The on-field umpires referred the catch to TV umpire Joel Wilson, who deemed that the ball had touched the ground before Smith lobbed it in the air, ruling Kohli not out. The decision divided opinions.
During lunch, when Smith was asked whether he took the catch cleanly, he said he was '100 per cent' sure of having his hand underneath the ball. "100 percent. No, denying it whatsoever, 100 percent," Smith said on Fox Sports. "But the umpire has made the decision. We'll move on."
"100%. No denying it whatsoever."
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 3, 2025
Steve Smith weighs in on whether he got his hand underneath the ball in the biggest moment of the morning. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/bqIy8iGIRm
Simon Taufel: You could probably build a case for either decision to be given
As per MCC Law 33, for a catch to be deemed fair, the ball must not touch the ground during the act of taking a catch. Although at first it seemed Smith had taken it cleanly, subsequent frames suggested the ball might have touched the turf.
Former ICC Elite Panel umpire Simon Taufel has explained that as per the protocol, if the fingers are underneath the ball, it’s enough to be called a fair catch. However, Taufel wasn't fully confident of the call and reckoned that one "could probably build a case for either decision to be given". He explained that the lack of soft signals meant TV umpires have complete authority in making these kinds of decisions.
"I think you described it very well when you said that depending upon which side of the fence you sit on you could probably build a case for either decision to be given," Taufel said on Channel 7.
"Listening to Joel Wilson's language there, where he said the fingers were underneath the ball and then he's seen it roll on to the ground, by his own language he is telling us that he believes he's seeing that ball on the ground. So, there are two things that the TV umpire here is looking for. One is fingers underneath the ball. He was satisfied there.
"But then he believes through those pictures that he's clearly seen the ball on the ground. And here's the challenge, slowing it right down with slow-mo. Play it at real speed and it looks pretty good. I can certainly understand what the third umpire's done there. He believes he's seen the ball on the ground and called it way he's seen it.
"Normally the ICC protocol on fair catches is if you see the fingers underneath the ball, that's good to maintain a fair catch. But here's the problem: the on-field umpires no longer have the soft signal and make the decision, it's purely in the hands of the television umpire now."
Having survived the close call, Kohli couldn’t make the most of it. After lunch, he again poked at a delivery outside off stump from Boland to end his 69-ball stay for 17. That was also Kohli’s longest innings without a boundary. As a result, India slipped to 72-4 after opting to bat first.
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