Did Virat Kohli obstruct field? Sunil Gavaskar questions Pakistan's decision, calls star batter lucky for THIS reason

India star batter Virat Kohli slammed his 51st century to guide India to a convincing six-wicket win over Pakistan in their Champions Trophy match. Kohli's unbeaten 100 off 111 balls was the highlight of the match, helping India secure a resounding victory.

In a moment that could have changed the course of the match, Virat Kohli narrowly avoided a potential dismissal during his century. In the 21st over, Kohli took a single off Haris Rauf and, as the throw came in, he got his glove to the ball to stop it. Although Kohli's intent was not to obstruct the field, Pakistan had the option to appeal, which could have resulted in a dramatic turn of events.

Despite no Pakistani fielder being in position to gather the ball, Kohli's decision to stop it with his glove seemed perplexing, especially as Babar Azam was still some distance away.

Sunil Gavaskar's comment on Virat Kohli

Commentator and former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar expressed his disapproval of Kohli’s actions, stating: “He stopped the ball with his hand…If the Pakistanis appealed – they didn’t – it could be obstructing the field. Maybe there was nobody backing up also at that stage. Maybe there could have been an extra run over there."

 February 23, 2025

“Nobody is backing up. The fielder at the midwicket would’ve had to dive, but there was no need for him to interfere with the progress of the ball. He’s lucky nobody has appealed," an unhappy Sunil Gavaskar said on the air.

Gavaskar suggested that Kohli's actions could have resulted in an obstructing-the-field dismissal, despite the fact that Kohli was safely within the crease.

Rameez Raja, who had earlier praised Kohli's game awareness, was amused by the situation, commenting, "And here I was, raving about his game-awareness."

What does the rule say?

Obstructing the field is a rare dismissal in cricket, occurring when a batter deliberately interferes with the fielding side to prevent a catch or run-out.

In 2006, Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq was dismissed for obstructing the field in an ODI against India when he blocked the ball with his bat to avoid a run-out.

In 2015, England's Ben Stokes was given out for obstructing the field in an ODI against Australia when he used his hand to stop the ball from hitting the stumps.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli achieved a historic milestone during the match against Pakistan, becoming the third batter in history to reach 14,000 ODI runs. He surpassed Sachin Tendulkar as the fastest player to reach this landmark, achieving the feat just 15 runs shy of the milestone before the match began.