How often have we seen Nitin Menon’s name pop up when Virat Kohli is playing? The match official has become a villain in Kohli’s story as he has often shattered the hopes of millions of fans by terming the batter out by the narrowest of margins, which hawk-eye has shown as an “umpire call”. The duo had their moments in the recently concluded Test series between India and Australia. But one incident between them hogged the headlines and had many in splits.
IND vs AUS 2023: “Main hota to pakka out tha” Virat Kohli’s hilarious dig at Nitin Menon on his umpire’s call decision for Travis Head
The Test series between India and Australia was not only a host to the staggering battle between bat and ball but also many hilarious moments on the field as well. One such among them was on the offer in the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.
The love affair of Kohli and Menon was the hot toast of the Day 5 of the Ahmedabad Test. It was during the 35th over of Australia’s second innings when R Ashwin trapped Travis Head in Lbw and appealed for it. But umpire Nitin Menon wasn’t convinced much and turned down the appeal.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma after a discussion with Ashwin and keeper KS Bharat opted for DRS, which showed the umpire’s call on the ball hitting the stumps. Virat Kohli, who was fielding at the first slip, wasted no time and took a cheeky dig at umpire Nitin Menon.
As the hawk-eye showed the umpire’s call, he piped up with a hilarious comment and said: “Main hota toh pakka out tha (If I was batting you would have given this an out),”
Here’s the video:
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Notably, Virat Kohli after getting to out umpire’s call by Menon earlier in the series surpassed the obstacle in the fourth Test. He was the highest run-getter for India in the last game as he smashed a century and ended up scoring 185 runs. He also ended the series as the second-leading run-scorer.
IND vs AUS 2023: India qualifies for the final of the World Test Championship
While the result of the fourth Test between India and Australia ended in a draw, it was a win-win situation for the Rohit Sharma-led side as they not only won the series by the margin of 2-1. But they also qualified for the final of the World Test Championship.
The result ending in New Zealand’s favour in the Test match against Sri Lanka booked a berth for India in the summit clash. They will now face Australia in the WTC Final at The Oval, England in June this year. Notably, they for the second consecutive time qualified for the final.
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