Former captain Virat Kohli, on Monday, survived a run-out scare early in his knock during India’s batting madness at the Green Park stadium in Kanpur after a mix-up with Rishabh Pant. The sight had even left captain Rohit Sharma and most in the Indian dressing room tensed as the hosts aimed to force a result in the rain-affected Test. However, Kohli, who did look unhappy with Pant then, saw the funny side to the survival later when India were fielding during Bangladesh’s second innings.
The incident happened in the 19th over of India’s innings, when Kohli, who walked in at No. 5, was batting on two off three. Khaled Ahmed dished out a good-length delivery outside off. Kohli got a thick under-edge as the ball rolled outside the pitch, towards his right. With the message from the dressing room being clear about India’s game plan for the match after two consecutive abandoned days in Kanpur due to wet outfield, Kohli set off for a single. Pant, who stood at the other end of the wicket, responded to the call, but within seconds stopped Kohli, who by then was far outside the crease.
The fast bowler ran towards the ball, collected it and under-armed a throw towards the stumps. Kohli had given up on the attempt to make it back to the crease, but survived on sheer luck. Had Khaled known Kohli was miles away from the crease, he probably would not have thrown the ball, which went off the mark, but the missed opportunity did leave his teammates furious.
Kohli, too, did not seem happy with the mix-up, but Pant apologised quickly with a hug. Later, a fresh video emerged when the 35-year-old was spotted hilariously mimicking Bangladesh’s failed run-out attempt during India’s fielding in the final session of the day. Pant, too, chipped in, while fellow slip fielders KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were hooked.
Can India squeeze out a win on Day 5?
India’s batting carnage opened up the possibility of a result in Kanpur, which lost seven sessions in the Test match. Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin combined to script a Bangladesh collapse just after Lunch on Day 4, picking the final seven wickets for just 126 runs, before the batters went into T20 mode to script the fastest 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 in Test history. India eventually declared at 285 for nine, with 45 minutes left on the clock, before Ashwin picked up two more wickets to leave Bangladesh at 26 for two.
Ashwin will play the central figure alongside Ravindra Jadeja as India will hope to pick the final eight wickets and wrap up the match in Kanpur on Day 5, which would subsequently strengthen their chances of making the WTC final for the third straight time.
