Shubman Gill 'channels inner Virat Kohli'; Ravi Shastri turns umpire in comm box, but Joe Root has last laugh

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

Shubman Gill-led India witnessed a plethora of emotions in a matter of minutes in the third and final session on Day 2 of the ongoing first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. From sheer joy to extreme agony, Gill and his team saw the two extremes. It all happened when the visitors thought they had seen the back of Joe Root as the on-field umpire, Paul Reiffel, raised his finger off the bowling of Mohammed Siraj. However, the right-hander went for a review, and the replays showed the ball to be missing the leg stump. Shubman Gill channelled his inner Virat Kohli' while Ravi Shastri turned umpire in the commentary box. (Screengrabs - JioHotstar )
When Reiffel gave Root out, Gill charged towards Siraj, and his celebration reminded everyone of Virat Kohli as the Indian captain really had a pumped-up reaction. However, he was brought to reality when the replay popped up on the big screen.
Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri also thought Root was plumb in front. However, the replays shocked him.
Speaking of the entire chain of events, Ian Ward on air said, 'I think he was channelling a little bit of his inner Virat Kohli (celebration of Root wicket). The biggest cheer of the day here at Headingley. When the third umpire asked Paul Reiffel to overturn his decision.'
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Shastri, who has seen up close how Root can really hurt India through his knack of scoring big runs, said, 'Yes, and it was Joe Root. You can see how much this wicket means to India. Even my hand went up in the commentary box. Because he's made India pay the price over the years. He wants that. Unfortunately, it was missing.'
Speaking of Siraj, he got the ball to jag back in sharply. Root was unable to get the bat down in time. He failed to connect with the flick shot, and this resulted in the Indian fielders breaking into a huge appeal. Reiffel raised his finger, and Root immediately went for a review.
The replays showed the ball to be going down legside, and Root got a reprieve. Shastri turns umpire in the comm box
The live broadcast then cut to the commentary box visuals of Ravi Shastri, where he raised his finger when Siraj trapped Root.
Speaking of the visuals, Ian Ward said, 'Umpire Ravi Shastri.'
The former India head coach joked about the situation, saying, 'Just goes to show how much I've watched Joe Root bat over the years as coach of India. Just keeps getting hundreds, so even my finger went up for it. And I'm sitting behind the umpire.'
Speaking of the first Test between India and England, the hosts reached the score of 209/3 at stumps on Day 2, still trailing by 262 runs. Ollie Pope and Harry Brook are unbeaten on 100 and 0 respectively for England. For India, Jasprit Bumrah took all three wickets.
Earlier, India posted 471 runs on the board, owing to centuries by Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.