Kohli accuses Australia over DRS: There´s a line you don´t cross
Virat Kohli dramatically accused Australia of repeatedly seeking off-field assistance over their use of the Decision Review System (DRS) following India’s victory in the second Test in Bangalore.
India levelled the series at 1-1 on Tuesday by dismissing their opponents for 112 to secure a 75-run win, but the fourth day’s play was overshadowed by an incident that followed Australia captain Steve Smith being trapped lbw by Umesh Yadav.
After being given out, Smith briefly consulted with batting partner Peter Handscomb before looking up at the Australian dressing room, in an apparent attempt to seek guidance on whether a review would be worthwhile.
Umpire Nigel Llong swiftly intervened, denying Smith the opportunity to use the DRS, but a disgruntled Kohli went on to claim in his post-match news conference that similar situations had occurred earlier in the match.
“I saw that two times happening when I was batting out there. I pointed it out to the umpire as well, that it’s happened twice, that I’ve seen their players looking upstairs for confirmation, and that’s why the umpire was at him [Smith],” said India’s captain.
“When he turned back the umpire knew exactly what was going on, because we observed that, we told the match referee also and the umpires, that they’ve been doing that for the last three days and this has to stop, because there’s a line that you don’t cross on the cricket field.
“Sledging and playing against the opponents is different, but … I don’t want to mention the word, but it falls in that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field.”
DRS – Dressing room review system? Smith tries to get some suggestions from the dressing room for a review https://t.co/2V488WaKEp #INDvAUS
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 7, 2017
While he stopped short of explicitly accusing Australia of cheating, stating “I didn’t say that, you did,” when one reporter asked if that was the word he would not mention, Kohli made it clear he was less than impressed by Smith’s explanation, which saw the touring captain claim he had suffered a “brain fade”.
“Honestly, if someone makes a mistake while batting, for me personally, that’s a brain fade,” Kohli added.
“The way I left the ball in Pune, you know, getting hit on the off stump, that was a brain fade. But if something is going on for three days, then that’s not a brain fade, as simple as that.
“I don’t want to say more on that, the videos are out there for everyone to see. It was getting repetitive, that’s why the umpires also knew that it might happen again. I saw it two times when I was batting, I can vouch for that.”
In his news conference, Smith had said: “I got hit on the pad and looked down to Petey [Handscomb], and Petey sort of said look up there. So I turned around and said ‘what do you reckon’ and it was a bit of a brain fade on my behalf.
“I shouldn’t have done that. I was looking at our boys, so shouldn’t have done that and it was a bit of a brain fade.”
