India made a strong start with the bat when they chose to set a target against South Africa at the Eden Gardens, with an impressive score of 91/1 at the end of the powerplay. However, the quick dismissals of openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, coupled with the spinners exploiting the dry pitch to create sharp turn, slowed down the scoring rate.
Boundaries became a rare luxury for Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. When Iyer had a chance to boost his low score of 12 from 35 deliveries, Kohli, in a display of teamwork, ensured his partner made the most of it, displaying qualities reminiscent of a lawyer.
Iyer, with 12 runs to his name, faced Tabraiz Shamsi on the third ball of the 22nd over. Shamsi delivered a ball on middle and leg that sharply turned towards the batter’s pads as Iyer attempted a delicate paddle fine of the wicket-keeper. The ball narrowly missed the stumps and raced to the boundary.
However, much to Kohli’s surprise, the umpire, Paul Reiffel, signaled byes, leaving Kohli wide-eyed and in disbelief. He seemed to inquire with Iyer whether the ball had touched the bat, then approached the umpire, and, to everyone’s surprise, Reiffel reversed his decision to award four runs off the bat.
Adding to the chaos, Ultra Edge later revealed that Iyer had not made contact with the ball, but by then, the decision had already been altered.
— bhupendar jogi (@JogiBhupen85333) November 5, 2023
Interestingly, Iyer had faced a similar incident in a previous game against Sri Lanka, where his appeals to reverse the byes decision had been ignored. Twitter users praised Kohli for helping his teammate relieve the pressure by earning him four runs.