Kohli shells sitter in ‘extraordinary’ scene… and why it exposed ‘ridiculous’ cricket truth

India veteran Virat Kohli dropped an absolute sitter on day one, which would have had Marnus Labuschagne for a second ball duck, but he got sympathy from David Warner.

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With Australia under the pump at 1-14 in reply to India’s first innings of 150 on day one of the first Test at Perth Stadium, Jasprit Bumrah looked to have two wickets in three balls.

Bumrah had debutant Nathan McSweeney trapped lbw for 8, before Labuschagne nicked to first slip off just his second ball faced.

Kohli looked certain to snaffle a regulation catch as Bumrah celebrated, but the ball bounced out as Kohli braced for the ground and he waved the catch away, much to the dismay of his bowler and teammates.

“Edged and taken… dropped in the end, they were celebrating and Kohli put it on the ground,” Mark Howard said on Fox Cricket.

“It was as if he caught it and then placed it on the ground. An extraordinary situation.

“Labuschagne gets a life. Bumrah was celebrating. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.”

Michael Vaughan was stunned Kohli let go of the catch.

“Well he had it,” Vaughan said.

“He had it in his hands and then relaxed and released and before he knew it Virat Kohli had put it down on the turf. You can see there it is in and he just lets go of it.”

Howard was still trying to work out how Kohli put it down moments later.

“That was an extraordinary drop catch,” Howard said.

“What happened with Kohli here? He had it for so long and just as he was adjusting the hands it came out.”

However, Warner defended Kohli’s drop in light of Mitchell Starc’s drop catch in the Ashes last year.

Starc looked to have taken a regulation catch on the boundary, but in using the hand carrying the ball to brace for contact with the ground, his catch was ruled to have been dropped.

Warner believes Kohli had this interpretation of the rules in mind as he braced for contact with the Perth Stadium turf and the ball spilt out.

“It was a weird one wasn’t it?” Warner said.

“He had it in his hands and because today and we saw it with Mitchell Starc in the Ashes at Lords.

“You catch the ball and as soon as the ball is in your hands, you place it on the ground, it was almost like he was too worried about catching the ball and then putting his hand on the ground and keeping it upright.

“You can see his hands tucked in there. If he goes the other way and the ball is on the ground that is deemed not out, which I think is ridiculous because he has already had control of the ball.

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“But players are now worried about turning the ball back upright so you don’t touch the ground.”

Kohli made amends somewhat with a regulation catch to dismiss Usman Khawaja moments later for 8.

However, Kohli’s drop had Gerard Whately speculating if it was the beginning of the end for him at Test level as he ages and his eyesight worsens.

“It’s a terrible drop by Kohli,” Whateley said on SEN radio.

“It’s the sort of dropped catch that adds to the narrative of the ageing player whose eye isn’t what it used to be.”

Earlier Kohli could only manage 5 off 12 balls before he was caught by Usman Khawaja off Josh Hazelwood, continuing a worrying lean trot with the bat.