In Sydney, controversy erupted as early during the eighth over of the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when third umpire Joel Wilson declared Virat Kohli not out after Australia claimed a catch off the first delivery Kohli faced on Day 1 of this eagerly awaited series decider. However, the decision was overturned after the matter was referred to the third umpire.
Kohli survives big scare
When Kohli edged his opening delivery off a back-of-a-length channel to Steve Smith in the slips, Boland nearly had two in two. Smith seemed to come close to making the catch, but he lost his balance and passed it to the fielder nearby, who grabbed the rebound. However, the TV replays revealed that Smith might have grassed the opportunity by placing his fingertips just underneath the ball. Before it reached the fielder nearby, the ball seemed to be bouncing off the turf after striking Smith's fingers. Third umpire Joel Wilson declared that he could "clearly see the ball roll off the grass" after several replays, ruling in favour of India and Kohli.
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Ex-Umpire Simon Taufel explains
Former umpire Simon Taufel explained the scenario and said as per the ICC protocol on fair catches, if the fingers are seen below the ball, it is enough to call a fair catch. However, he explained that there are no longer soft signals, TV umpire has the complete power of making the decision.
"He could probably build a case for either decision to be given. (Wilson) 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," former umpire Simon Taufel said on Channel 7.
India lose three wickets before lunch
Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the decision was a little shocking due to the overcast conditions and the rich green layer on the pitch. It soon seemed to affect India as they lost three wickets prior to lunch itself. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were unsuccessful and were back in the dugout by the score of 17 runs. Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli joined a 40-run stand but Nathan Lyon broke it by dismissing Gill on the final ball before the lunch call.