Inspired by Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden century, India made an aggressive start in their second innings of the Boxing Day Test.
The visitors had Australia on the ropes at 91/6, with a target of nearly 250 runs in sight. However, Marnus Labuschagne and Pat Cummins fought back, adding 57 runs to revive Australia’s hopes.
At 173/9, India seemed to have the game in their grasp, but Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon put together an unbroken 55-run stand by stumps on Day 4.
During this partnership, Australia surpassed the 80-over mark, giving India the option to take the new ball. However, Rohit Sharma opted against it, saying, “New ball leke fayda nahi hai. Ab kal hi lenge (There’s no point in taking the new ball. We’ll take it tomorrow).”
But after just one ball, Virat Kohli was seen talking to his captain, advocating for the new ball to be taken immediately.
— DJ Sinha (@sdj374531) December 29, 2024
Rohit ultimately relented, choosing the new ball, and India soon claimed Lyon’s wicket—though it was off a no-ball. Twitter quickly picked up on the conversation and shared their own thoughts on the exchange.