"Virat sent him back" - Steve Smith on Yashasvi Jaiswal's run-out on Day 2 of 4th BGT 2024-2025 Test

Australia star batter Steve Smith opened up about the huge mixup between India's Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, which led to the run out on Day 2 of the fourth Test in Melbourne on Friday, December 27.

Notably, Jaiswal took off for a single soon after hitting the ball off Scott Boland while Kohli was ball-watching at the non-striker's end. Pat Cummins collected and threw towards the striker’s end before wicketkeeper Alex Carey completed the formalities.

As a result, Jaiswal missed on a well-deserved century, departing for 82 runs. Kohli soon was caught behind for 36 again around the off-stump channel, the fifth time (all occasions) in the five-match series.

Speaking about the incident in the press conference, Smith stated that Kohli sent back Jaiswal, who was run out at the striker’s end. Interestingly, Jaiswal was running towards the dangerous end.

Steve Smith told the reporters (via One Cricket):

"Looks like Jaiswal called yes, ran, and Virat sent him back. Simple as that. Yeah, I didn't see much more than that. It was obviously a really good partnership to break that one. And then obviously get the two more wickets. It was a huge last hour for us. So, yeah, that was a big play in the context of the day, I suppose.”

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“I thought we were in for a bit of a masterclass there” – Steve Smith on Virat Kohli

Steve Smith further shared that there was a sigh of relief among Aussie teammates after Virat Kohli departed for 36 off 86 deliveries.

The former Australia skipper said during the same conversation:

“He [Virat Kohli] \was really disciplined today, he was leaving nicely, making the bowlers come to him a bit more and scoring well through the leg side and when we went short. So, yeah, I thought we were in for a bit of a masterclass there.”

Smith further pointed out how Kohli could’ve proven dangerous while citing the example of his century in Perth. He said:

“Look, he's a class player, we know that. Obviously, he played really well in Perth for that 100. And he looked really good today, I thought, 'Jeez' (Jesus), he's in for a good one here. And it was probably the first ball. I think he actually hardly played at on that 5th-6th stump line.”

"But fortunately, you know, Barrell (Boland's nickname) got one to sort of straighten probably off the line on that 5th-6th stump and he probably was one of the only ones he played at. So, yeah, I was fortunate to catch the edge,” he added.

Virat Kohli grinded throughout his innings and looked well-settled before losing his wicket. However, Jaiswal’s suicidal runout seemingly affected his concentration, which led to the dismissal.

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