Manchester: June 16: India skipper Virat Kohli walked despite not hitting the ball as Pakistan managed to rein in and keep the Indian juggernaut under control in the last five overs, restricting them to 336/5 in their heavyweight World Cup clash on Sunday.
India, led by Rohit Sharma’s 140, were going great guns when the skies opened up and play was stopped for a brief period. After resumption, with Hardik Pandya (26) and M.S. Dhoni (1) back in the hut, it was Kohli who could take the Men in Blue past the 350-run mark.
Batting on 77 in the 48th over, Kohli tried to pull a Mohammed Amir bouncer, but the ball flew past his bat to wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed even as the India skipper felt he had got the faintest of edges.
The umpire did not raise his finger despite a long appeal from the Pakistan players. But once Kohli started to walk, it became obvious that the batsman knew he was out.
Later, replays showed that there was daylight between bat and ball and Kohli had actually not nicked it. The Indian skipper was livid in the dressing room while Dhoni was seen checking if the handle of the bat had become loose, making Kohli feel he had edged it.
India were 314/5 when Kohli got out, and in the last two overs Shankar and Kedar Jadhav failed to step on the accelerator, adding 22 runs to the team total. (IANS)
