Virat Kohli's fielding error in the third and final ODI between India and New Zealand in Indore was nothing but a rare lapse of concentration. In a high-pressure game on Sunday, the incident took place during the first innings of the match when New Zealand were batting.
In one of the over, the ball travelled towards Kohli, who tried to pick it up in motion. But the former Indian captain couldn't and he fumbled a couple of times before grabbing it completely. Known to be one of the best and athletic fielders in the setup, the fielding error didn't go well with Kohli as he kicked the ball in frustration.
Kohli's frustration stemmed from the fact that he knew he can stop the single. Due to his fielding error, the opposition batter stole a run. While such fielding errors aren't new in a game of cricket, a section of Kohli's fans slammed the makers of the cricket ball - SG (Sanspareils Greenlands), abusing the white cherry for Kohli's misfield.
The Kohli fanbase took to the comments section of SG's Instagram account to vent their frustration. While some blamed the texture of the SG ball, others asked the company to make the grip of the correct so that it doesn't get out of Kohli's hand in the future.
"Please work on the ball's surface. It's too slippery for King Kohli," while another wrote, "Fix your quality, your ball cost us a wicket today," one fan wrote.
How Virat Kohli performed in IND vs NZ ODIs?
Kohli was in sublime form in the ODI series. Fresh from a hundred and a fifty in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Kohli scored a match-winning 93 in the first ODI against New Zealand before falling for a score below 30 in the second game in Rajkot.
In the third ODI, chasing 338, Kohli fought valiantly when the top-order completely failed. Along with the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, Kohli single-handedly steered India's chase with a 91-ball hundred.
While he forged a 88-run stand with Nitish Kumar Reddy (53), Kohli put on 99 runs with Harshit Rana (52) as India fell short by 41 runs. Kohli was eventually dismissed for 124 runs. He finished with 240 runs, the most by an Indian in the series. New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell finished on top.
With India playing no ODIs in the next few months, Kohli will return to the Indian dressing room in July during their tour of England. India will play three ODIs on English soil.
