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Cricket PlayersWatch: 'Arey Viru, leg bye diya kya?' - Rohit Sharma shocked as umpire denies four, leaves IND captain stuck at 0 vs AFG
Rohit Sharma was shocked at the umpire's decision to call leg bye at the Indian captain's first boundary in the third T20I against Afghanistan.
Team India captain Rohit Sharma's return to T20I cricket had been marked by an unexpected struggle with the bat. While his captaincy saw success with a series win over Afghanistan, Rohit's batting performances in Mohali and Indore were forgettable, as he recorded ducks in both matches. His first innings was marred by an unfortunate in Mohali, while he was bowled out on the first delivery in the second. As the series shifted to Bengaluru for the final T20I, all eyes were on Rohit, and the pressure was palpable as he, for the third time in the series, won the toss and chose to bat, deviating from India's strategy in the first two games where they opted to bowl first.
Facing the challenges, Rohit took the crease on only the second ball of the innings, following Yashasvi Jaiswal's three runs on the first delivery. He capitalized on Fareed Ahmed's delivery down the leg side, dispatching it towards the third-man boundary. However, the joy was short-lived as umpire Virender Sharma adjudged the runs as leg-byes, meaning they were added to India's total, but Rohit's score remained at zero.
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His score remained unmoved when Rohit later scored another four with leg-byes in the same over. It wasn't until the second over, when Rohit returned to the crease, that he became aware of the leg bye decision and expressed his dismay to umpire Virender Sharma, humorously questioning the signal for a thigh-pad on the first four.
"Arey viru, thigh-pad diya kya pehla four? Bat laga tha! (Hey Viru, did you signal for the thigh pad on the first four? I hit that with my bat!)" The commentators couldn't help but share a laugh, and even umpire Virender Sharma acknowledged the mix-up, apologizing to Rohit.
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Rohit did go off the mark in the second over, scoring his first runs in T20Is since returning to the format last week after over 14 months. However, India endured a poor start to the innings as they lost four quick wickets – including Virat Kohli on a duck – within the powerplay.
