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Remember Rohit Sharma not convinced about Kuldeep Yadav’s DRS calls? Yes, the Indian captain’s confidence issues with Kuldeep’s reviews were again captured on the field as India narrowly escaped losing an early DRS against England on Day 3 of the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
The incident took place already in the third over of England’s second innings, when India did not know whether to go for a review against Zak Crawley. The bowler in question was Jasprit Bumrah, whose mustache overcame the England batsman’s outside edge, but as India remotely sensed there was something more, arguments arose between Rohit, wicketkeeper KS Bharat and Kuldeep.
Look the following video:
Kuldeep tried to convince Rohit to do the review but fortunately for India, Bharat and the Indian captain did not seem convincing. And rightly so, as the replay showed a huge gap between bat and ball. Rohit was seen waving his hand at Kuldeep, and then even sarcastically clapped for his teammate when the big screen showed the reality of that delivery. The most surprising thing about this entire episode was that Kuldeep was set at square leg, so there is no way he would have seen it as clearly as a Bharat or a Bumrah.
It’s not the first time
Kuldeep and Rohit have an interesting story, especially when it comes to deciding on DRS. Last year, India’s captain stopped Kuldeep, not once but twice for a wrong decision. In March, during India’s third ODI against Australia, Kuldeep was on the receiving end of a manic outburst from Rohit when Kuldeep wrong-footed DRS twice. He didn’t take it when he should have and wasted a review when he shouldn’t have.
Later during the World Cup, Kuldeep and Rohit were at it again, this time the India player arguing with the captain during the match against England. Before Kuldeep dismissed Moeen Ali in the 24th over, in the 22nd over, one of his deliveries hit Liam Livingstone on the pads. Despite the Indian captain’s insistence, Kuldeep chose not to review it. As the three reds lit up on the big screen, Rohit walked up to Kuldeep and gave him a stern reprimand, leaving the wrist-spinner with no option but to intently absorb his captain’s criticism.
India ahead but England lively as always
A total of 11 wickets fell during the day, 10 of which were India’s as they were bowled out for 255 in their second innings. Shubman Gill was the lone warrior, returning to form with a third Test century, as India extended their lead to almost 400, putting England within 300 of winning. With two days and 14 overs left in the match, openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett came out with intent and played the only game they know.
Even though Bumrah kept a tight end, Mukesh Kumar leaked runs again, giving away four boundaries in two overs and going over without the ball. England scored 50 of the 399 runs before Ravichandran Ashwin, who was wicketless in the first innings, made the breakthrough when Duckett offered bat and pad to Bharat to catch him. Night watchman Rehan Ahmed came in to dismiss the last four overs of the day but did not shy away from taking his shots. England finished at 67/1, needing 332 more to win, setting up a very intriguing fourth day game.