Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star batter Virat Kohli was at the centre of controversy during the side's clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. Kohli endured a freak dismissal in the early stages of RCB's run-chase, as he was taken aback by a high full-toss delivery from Harshit Rana; barely managing to put the bat on the ball, Kohli couldn't get any timing on the shot and the bowler picked up an easy catch.

Kohli, however, was firm that the ball was above the waist height and took an instant review for a no-ball. However, the third umpire deemed the ball legal, infuriating the RCB batter, who seemed stunned by the decision. He kept gesturing that the ball was above his waist as he walked back angrily towards the dugout, shaking his head in disbelief.

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Interestingly, Kohli's former RCB teammate, AB de Villiers, had only recently shared his criticism about the third umpire calls over wide balls, urging for “common sense” to be used with technology. Even as the delivery in concern was referred for a no-ball review, the former South African batter made another post shortly after Kohli's dismissal, insisting that there's a need to remove ‘grey areas’ while taking such decisions.

“Grey areas in the game open up room for anger and confusion. It’s not a tough fix this. Get the batter’s stance, draw the lines and use ball tracking. No confusion whatsoever,” de Villiers wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

During the start of the match, de Villiers also spoke about how cricket can take inspiration from football while making such decisions.

“Forgot to clarify this in 360 live today. It’s got nothing to do with bad umpiring, rather common sense to use technology in a game already improved by it. Like the offside rule in football, draw lines and simplify the decision for wides(height, offside and leg-side). Line to be drawn as the batter enters the crease for height. If batter moves across the wide line obviously moves, but measure it and draw a line, don’t let the 3rd umpire have to thumb-suck the decision. Simple and effective,” de Villiers had said.

Kohli had been enjoying a terrific outing with the bat, even as the side has been at the wrong end of the results on six of the seven occasions at the Indian Premier League so far. On Sunday, the RCB former skipper made another blistering start to his innings, racing to 17 off just five deliveries as he smashed a four and two sixes early.

Kohli ticking the boxes?

Virat Kohli had been away from cricketing action for over two months before making a return in the IPL, but there were no signs of him being rusty as he made a successful return with the bat. With a century and two half-centuries, Kohli stays clear at the top of the list for the Orange Cap, and further extended his lead on Sunday with a strong outing against the Knight Riders.

The 35-year-old batter is likely to retain his place in the Indian T20I side as well, as the deadline for the side's T20 World Cup squad announcement nears.

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