'Third umpire or third class umpiring' - Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal fumes at Virat Kohli's controversial lbw decision in Mumbai Test

Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal did not mince his words while lashing out at the third-umpiring in the ongoing second Test between India and New Zealand in Mumbai. Rawal, alongside millions of cricket fans across the world, was left bemused by the umpiring fiasco on Day 1 of the Mumbai Test involving skipper Virat Kohli

Kohli, who was rested in the first Test in Kanpur, made a forgettable comeback against the Kiwis as he fell for a four-ball duck. Although, he had little role to play in what transpired as he became the victim of a controversial call. Reacting on the same, Rawal took to Twitter and wrote: “Is it third umpire or third class umpiring.?”

In the 30th innings of the Indian innings, Kohli had to walk back in frustration as he was deemed leg before wicket after being struck on the pads by Ajaz Patel. However, not before plenty of drama. The Indian skipper seemed confident as he reviewed the on-field call immediately, but the third umpire ruled him out in the absence of conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field call, which in Kohli’s case was ‘out’ by Anil Chaudhary.

Is it third umpire or third class umpiring. ?

— Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) December 3, 2021

Replays suggested the bat to be ahead of the pad, as the ball changed its trajectory before hitting the pads. However, third umpire Virender Sharma was not convinced as he could not ascertain whether the ball came in contact with the bat first or pad. An annoyed Kohli had a brief chat with the other on-field umpire Nitin Menon before leaving the field visibly frustrated.

“The TV umpire has to find conclusive evidence to overturn the decision of the on-field umpire. There was no conclusive evidence that the ball hit the pad first. So, I think the process was followed. The process was right,” Doull said while commentating the game on Star Sports.

“That was bat first in my opinion. And I understand the ’conclusive evidence’ part. But I think this was an instance where common sense should have prevailed. But as they say common sense is not so common. Feel for Virat Kohli. #Unlucky #INDvNZ,” former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer tweeted.