Amidst all the thrill of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India, most of the fans were focussed on the 22-yard strip on offer at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Wednesday. Allan Border did the pitch report and was excited to see a layer of grass on it and gave a verdict that the team winning the toss should bowl first. However, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli surprised everyone by opting to bat first or rather one would say he didn’t read too much into the grass on the pitch.

India’s new opening pair of Hanuma Vihari and Mayank Agarwal looked comfortable as the new cherry didn’t do much. But they were only troubled with the inconsistent bounce in the pitch. It stayed throughout the day with the ball rearing up from the good length and hit the batsmen at the gloves a number of times.

A similar incident took place when the second new ball was taken. Mitchell Starc was smelling fire and was all over Kohli in his final spell of the day.

ALSO READ: Mitchell Starc Lauds Virat Kohli’s Captaincy Skills

In the 87th over of the day, Starc bowled a pacy delivery which pitched on a good length area outside the off-stump. Virat Kohli was adamant on leaving the ball which suddenly reared up after passing the stumps and by the time it reached the wicket-keeper Tim Paine, the red cherry was out of reach for him and went for four byes.

Everyone including Kohli and Starc was left shocked with the pitch’s behavior as they shared a laugh together having a look at each other. The duo stared at each other in a friendly way and smiled while looking at the pitch from where the ball bounced. The Indian skipper later was also lucky to be dropped as Paine couldn’t hold on to a tough chance to his right as India ended the day on 215/2 after 89 overs.

Here’s the video of the delivery:

https://twitter.com/videos_shots/status/1077820954523295744