Virat Kohli appeared to be out for a golden duck after a stunning team catch by Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, but the third umpire saved him.
After a long review, Joel Wilson said he felt Smith grounded the ball before flicking it up to Labuschagne.
Former players and umpires had differing opinions on it, with Glenn McGrath saying on ABC Sport it looked out to him.
India superstar Virat Kohli has been saved from a golden duck by an impossibly close call from the third umpire in the first hour of the SCG Test.
Kohli strode to the crease after just 40 minutes of play and looked to have nicked off the first ball from Scott Boland when Steve Smith got a hand to the low ball at second slip, flicking it up to Marnus Labuschagne to complete what looked like a miraculous catch.
As the Australians sprinted into wild celebrations and Boland no doubt started dreaming of his plans for a hat-trick ball, umpire Sharfuddoula consulted fellow on-field official Michael Gough, and they decided to send it to the third umpire.
As ever, the footage being reviewed by Joel Wilson was far from conclusive, with different angles supporting both sides of the argument and players from both teams on the field celebrating and lamenting accordingly as the process went on.
The ball went into Smith’s right hand cleanly as he dived low, but as he started to flick the ball up, there appeared, from some angles, to be a hint of grass touching the ball for a frame or two as his thumb twisted the ball in his hand.
Screenshots of Steve Smith’s non-catch showing the ball maybe touching the grass.
A few frames, from certain angles, suggested that maybe the ball brushed the grass. (Supplied: Channel Seven)
After a long deliberation, Wilson made his decision.
“He’s got his fingers [under it], but like it’s rolled onto the ground. I have that ball just touching the ground,” he said, with Kohli gleefully accepting the second life and kicking off all sorts of deliberations.
Smith was, unsurprisingly adamant, saying “That’s out, it stayed on my finger” as captain Pat Cummins approached the umpires for an explanation.
