IND vs SA | Twitter chuckles as Kuldeep's outrageous pleas for DRS break down Rohit into laughing fits

Kuldeep Yadav played the starring act in India's nine-wicket win against South Africa in the third ODI on Sunday with gamechanging figures of 4/41 to help the hosts take the series 2-1. A 300-plus total looked in inevitable on another flat Vizag track when the Proteas came out all guns blazing and Quinton de Kock cruised to an 80-ball ton, but a double breakthrough for Kuldeep in the 39th over built on a bubbling collapse that saw the tourists bowled out for a subpar 270. While the veteran garnered much praise from his counterparts for his standout bowling performance, his other antics on the field invited threats of straight-up violence, and perhaps for good reason.

Burgeoning with confidence after scalping two set batters Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen in quick succession, Kuldeep took his tally to three with a simple return catch of Corbin Bosch in the 40th over to bring the final batter Lungi Ngidi to the crease. The tailender defended a fullish first ball, before getting beaten by the turn on his second effort as the Kookabura rapped into his pads. A quick appeal followed but the umpire did not hesitate in shaking his head, and that should have been the end of it. Instead, Kuldeep looked longingly at KL Rahul stood behind the stumps but fortunately for the stand-in skipper, Rohit Sharma took care of business by waving the spinner away saying every ball that hits the pad does not amount to a wicket. Kuldeep obliged after a couple more please with a wry smile, and delivered a surprise yorker next-up that Ngidi somehow managed to dig out. However, much to the surprise of all around, another loud appeal followed only from the vocal chords of Kuldeep, and the umpire once again dismissed his inquiry without a second thought. Rohit, stood at first slip, immediately broke into a guttural laugh and waved his hands to indicate there was no sense of appealing. The former skipper could not hold back his laughter as he leaned over and covered his face, only to find upon lifting his head that Kuldeep was pleading to Rahul for a review. Startled, Rohit fervently shouted, "nahi, nahi, nahi (no, no, no)" while frantically waving both arms across as he looked at the veterans around him to galvanize support against the nonsensical behavour. The laughter soon furnished into a threat as he hollered at Kuldeep, who finally received the message and returned to his mask with a cheeky grin plastered across.

Twitterati was firmly in Rohit's boat.

Hilarious!

Review!

So funny!

Haha!

True!

Lol!

Entertainer!

😂

Haha!

Reaction!🤣