A hilarious yet intense moment lit up the ongoing third and final ODI between India and South Africa when Rohit Sharma suddenly lost patience with Kuldeep Yadav in Vishakhapatnam.
The incident unfolded when Kuldeep Yadav delivered a beautiful turning ball to Lungi Ngidi.
The delivery spun in sharply, beat Ngidi’s forward defensive push, and struck him on the pads. For a second, it looked like a close call, and Kuldeep immediately felt he had a real chance. Excited and hopeful, Kuldeep turned to his captain, KL Rahul, for a review.
Rohit Sharma shuts down Kuldeep Yadav’s repeated DRS request against Lungi Ngidi
But Rohit Sharma, who had a clear look at the delivery, did not feel the same. He instantly gestured for Kuldeep to return to his bowling mark. Instead of stopping, Kuldeep tried once more, almost pleading for the DRS as he believed the ball had done just enough.
And at that time, Rohit’s reaction shocked many. The former Indian captain completely dismissed the wrist-spinner’s request again. He kept signalling Kuldeep to move back and focus on the next ball, as he felt the delivery was drifting down the leg side and was not worth the risk.
Rahul didn’t take the DRS, but in the very next delivery, the stand-in captain almost appealed for LBW. Actually, the ball was very full, and Ngidi managed to push it away towards the off-side, and Rahul believed the ball had hit Ngidi’s pad or boot first, but there was no strong intention from Kuldeep, Rohit Sharma and others, so India didn’t take a review against Ngidi.
Later, replays showed it had clearly touched the bat.
Kuldeep Yadav’s googly confuses Lungi Ngidi again, but KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma still refuse DRS
Even in the 45th over of the South African innings, Kuldeep Yadav bowled a googly to Lungi Ngidi. Ngidi didn’t understand the delivery at all and tried to defend it, but he played on the wrong line. The ball missed his bat, hit his back thigh, and Kuldeep appealed for LBW.
But the Indian spinner once again failed to convince his captain, Rahul, and Rohit. Later, Kuldeep, Rahul, and Rohit Sharma discussed whether they should take the review.
They decided against taking the review because the ball had hit Ngidi high on the thigh, and the height made the LBW decision doubtful.
Kuldeep Yadav’s patience rewarded as Lungi Ngidi out in front of stumps
Luckily, in the same over, Kuldeep finally got the moment he had been desperately waiting for, and this time he didn’t need to convince anyone. The star wrist-spinner trapped Ngidi right in front of the stumps, and the umpire Madanagopal raised his finger without any hesitation.
But Ngidi immediately went for the review, hoping the ball had brushed the bat or missed the stumps. But the replay told a different story. The delivery had clearly beaten the inside edge by a huge margin, and UltraEdge wasn’t even needed.
Then came the ball-tracking. The projections showed that the ball was clipping the stumps, and the decision stayed with the umpire’s call, and Ngidi had to walk back after facing 10 balls for a run, as Kuldeep finally got the LBW he had been pleading for all over in the last few overs.