Umpire doesn't give clear wide after Kohli's fierce look, video adds spice to ‘century’ controversy in IND vs BAN match

Umpire Richard Kettleborough added more spice to the drama by not giving a clear wide when Kohli was batting on 97 and India needed only two runs to win

Virat Kohli's urge to get to his century gave a whole new twist to an otherwise one-sided India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2023 match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Kohli refused singles, took one only at the last ball for three consecutive overs to retain strike and went for the big hits to complete his 48th ODI century as everything else took a backseat in the dying stages of India's chase on Thursday. If this was not enough, umpire Richard Kettleborough added more spice to the drama by not giving a clear wide when Kohli was batting on 97 and India needed only two runs to win.

Virat Kohli looks on as umpire Kettleborough does not give a wide

With India galloping towards the 257-run target with 7 wickets in the bank - they needed 28 in 12 overs - the match was already decided. KL Rahul gave the strike back to Kohli after the latter had taken an easy single in the first ball of the 39th over. That was the last time Rahul would get the strike in the match. For the next four overs, it was not an India-Bangladesh match. It was a battle between Kohli and his century.

After defending a couple of balls from Hasan Mahmud in the same over Kohli launched a big hit after picking up the slower one early. He reached 80 with that six. He needed 20 runs to reach his third World Cup century and so did India to get to eight points and make it four in a row in this edition. In a split second, Kohli decided that he would take up the challenge. He took a single single off the last ball.

The first ball of the 40th over was slog-swept over mid-wicket for a four. 15 for century, 15 for India to win. It was the third ball of that over that gave a clear indication of Kohli's intention. The former India captain punched a back-of-a-length delivery to the deep cover point and decided not to take a single. He would go on to repeat the single-denial act twice in the next over. In between, he hit another six and charged down for two doubles and not to forget the last-ball singles to make sure he faced the first ball of the next ball. It was clear. He was going for the hundred.

The start of the 42nd over added a new dimension to the already bizarre scenario. Kohli was on 97 and India needed two runs to win. Bangladesh left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed fired one down the leg side and Kohli gave a disgusted, angry and fierce look at the bowler. It was not clear whether it had any impact on the bowler but it sure did on umpire Richard Kettleborough. He decided not to give it a wide. Replays confirmed that it was a bad call, not one that Kettleborough would be proud of for one second. He also shook his head after watching it on the big screen.

VIDEO: Umpire Richard Kettleborough sparks controversy by not giving a clear wide as Virat Kohli was nearing a century vs Bangladesh

The capacity Pune crowd didn't mind it one bit, and neither did Kohli. It was perhaps one of the rarest of rare scenarios when the batting team was happy at the umpire not giving it a wide. They knew the century was still possible. And so he did by depositing the low full toss for another six. His arms went up in the air, a roar followed. He badly wanted that century. But in doing so, did he disrespect the game and the opposition?

After India's win, KL Rahul would go on to reveal that it was actually him who urged Kohli to go for the century. Kohli was actually sceptical about not taking a single for his century, Rahul said.

But what about umpire Kettleborough's decision? Did he bottle under the pressure of Kohli's century? The debate won't end soon. The thousands of tweets, and videos of the incident doing the rounds on social media were a clear giveaway.