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Along with Virat Kohli’s outstanding form with the bat this English summer, his use of the DRS has become a talking point.
In the first test, with 53 runs needed and four wickets in hand, he was plumb LBW and reviewed the decision. Fair enough. The Test was on the line, he was their main chance to win and although he would have had a good idea he was out, because he was dead plumb, he did what anyone else would have done in that situation.
Batting at Lord’s in the second test, Kohli got a delivery that clearly took his glove, went onto thigh pad and was caught on the on side. The double sound was loud on the television and later on, when reviewed, the spike was obvious, so Kohli had to have known he was out. Kohli reviewed.
So assuming he knew he was out, and with the evidence put forward he must have known, why did he review?
Virat Kohli of India (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)
In the third test Kohli sent another LBW to the third umpire, which he got wrong. However with the ball just clipping leg stump, he could be afforded the benefit of the doubt on this occasion
Forward ahead to the fourth Test. With the match on the line Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had added 101 for the fourth wicket, but there was still a lot of work to do.
Moeen Ali had got a ball to turn and bounce outside the off stump and it clearly caught Kohli on the glove. He was caught in close but again decided to review the decision.
Once again Kohli had to know he had gloved the ball, the sound again was evident on replay and the spike was clear, so there would have been little to no doubt he knew he was out.
The question here then is ‘If you know you are out, and you review the decision, are you cheating?’ The answer in this circumstance is no, because we need to factor in the game situation.
The reality is Kohli was desperate. He was desperate not to get out and desperate to lead his team to victory.
It’s a similar occurrence to the 2010 world cup when Louis Suarez saved a ball on the line for his team, fully knowing he was breaking a rule of the sport. But desperate times sometimes in sport calls for desperate measures, so we can afford the players the benefit of the doubt in these situations.
Is what Kohli did in the spirit of the game? No it’s not. But once again a person’s desire to win needs to be taken into account, so Kohli gets the benefit of the doubt in all of this.
If it keeps on happening however, the benefit of the doubt will run out, and passing it off as a ‘strong will to win’ will be replaced with an accusation no sportsman likes.
That word starts with c.
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