The 3 iconic Virat Kohli and Nitin Menon moments

After over three years of waiting, Virat Kohli brought up his 28th Test hundred with a magnificent 186 in the fourth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. As of Day 4, he is India’s leading run-scorer in the series. When he ran a double to bring up his half-century on Day 3, Nitin Menon checked to verify if it was a short run. This caused a strong reaction on social media from Indian fans, who thought the umpire was biased against the former Indian captain. 

Take a look at 3 moments from the past that created highlights in the past: 

#1 Delhi 2023, LBW call against Australia

After a six-year wait, Virat Kohli took the field at his home ground. Following the loss of two early wickets, he walked out to bat and displayed sheer steadiness with his 44 runs off 84 balls on a heavily spinning track. But he was declared LBW by Menon off debutant Matt Kuhnemann, halting his promising innings. It was a difficult decision as the ball was extremely close to the bat and pad, but the third umpire upheld Menon’s call after Kohli challenged the initial decision.

#2 Wankhede 2021, LBW call against New Zealand

Virat Kohli rejoined the team for the second Test of their two-match series against New Zealand in 2021, but the legendary batsman was dismissed on 0 by Ajaz Patel. It was Kohli’s fourth duck in international cricket for that year. Like his dismissal in the Delhi Test, UltraEdge detected a noise when Kohli sought a review, but it remained unclear whether it touched the bat first or his pad.

#3 Chepauk 2021, Virat complaining against English batters

After defeating Australia in a nail-biting decider at the Gabba, the Indian team was eager to start their series with a bang. But England got the upper hand in the first match of the series. On Day 4, Virat Kohli noticed that the English batters were running from the middle of the pitch and immediately alerted umpire Nitin Menon.

“Oye, Menon (Nitin Menon), seedhe run bhi beech me bhaag raha hai yaar (He’s even running easy singles in the middle of the pitch),” the former captain was heard saying.