Chennai, December 15: A visibly angry Indian captain Virat Kohli on Sunday lashed out at umpire Shaun George's late run-out call involving Ravindra Jadeja during India's first ODI against the West Indies here, saying he has never seen that happen on a cricket field. "We would have got 15-20 runs more had something not happened out there. The fielder asked about the run-out and the umpire said not out. These dismissals end there. The people sitting outside cannot tell the fielder and they can't ask the umpire about reviewing the run-out," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony after India lost the first ODI by eight wickets to hand West Indies a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. India Vs West Indies, Live Cricket Score 1st ODI Match.
"I have never seen this in cricket. I don't know where the rules are. The referee and the umpire has to take them up and decide. The people sitting outside the field shouldn't dictate what happens on the field and that's exactly what happened there," he said. Kieron Pollard on Ravindra Jadeja Run-Out Controversy, Says ‘Right Decision Was Made in the End’.
The incident took place in the 48th over of India's innings, when Jadeja went for a quick single but the fielder affected a direct hit at the striker's end. On-field umpire George did not give out though Jadeja was short in the crease as replays would later show. The umpire then went upstairs after the run-out was shown on the big screen and that raised question on the timing of the referral upstairs after the ball was dead. West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard came up to umpire George as did all-rounder Roston Chase who had casually appealed after seeing the replays. Kohli was seen walking towards the field angrily. Kohli, however, did not enter the ground as Jadeja walked back to the dressing room.
India rode half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer (70) and Rishabh Pant (71) to post 287/8 after being asked to bat first on a slow wicket. But Shimron Hetmyer cracked a career-best 139 while Shai Hope scored an unbeaten 102 as the West Indies romped home with 13 balls to spare by putting up 291/2 in 47.5 overs.
Hetmyer's innings was outstanding," said Kohli. Asked if they were a bowler short and if the sluggish pitch changed drastically under lights, he said: "You try to go in with as many options as you can. We thought six bowling options would be enough. We thought six bowling options would be enough. I don't think pitch changed drastically, they batted brilliantly. The spinners were getting help but they put pressure on our spinners brilliantly."
"Very good signs for us with the performances of Iyer and Pant. Myself and Rohit not clicking today gave a good opportunity for the youngsters to stitch together a partnership," he added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 16, 2019 12:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).