'He loves everyone except Kohli' - Nitin Menon's contentious Steve Smith call sparks playful comparisons with Virat Kohli

On the second evening of the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval, fans were treated an intriguing moment as third umpire Nitin Menon faced a challenging decision regarding an appeal for Steve Smith's run-out. While the majority praised the umpire's decision, Indian fans playfully teased him with a "Virat Kohli" reference.

In the 78th over of Australia's first innings, Smith deftly guided a delivery from Chris Woakes towards square leg and ran for a quick two. However, substitue fielder George Ealham rushed in from the boundary and fired the ball to England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who swiftly dislodged the bails at the striker's end, narrowly beating the diving Smith.

The initial replays indicated that Smith's failed to make his ground and he was more than halfway to the pavilion feeling that his innings ended. However, a different angle revealed that Bairstow had disturbed one of the bails before gathering the ball. After a careful review, Menon ultimately ruled "not out," allowing Smith to return to the middle.

While many on Twitter lauded the Indian umpire for the tough call he made, a certain faction of fans showed no leniency towards Menon, amusingly drawing parallels to past instances involving Kohli.

Nitin Menon to others vs Nitin Menon to Kohli https://t.co/mUAEAJrmlO pic.twitter.com/BHneJlXVIS

— retired ICT fan (@anubhav__tweets) July 28, 2023

Nitin Menon umpiring in other batsmen playing vs Nitin Menon umpiring when its Kohli playing ..! #ViratKohli𓃵 #Ashes2023 #Ashes23 #AUSvENG #ENGvsAUS #TwitterX pic.twitter.com/Px0X4sNUT9

— Shadev Thakur (@shadevrana0061) July 28, 2023

Nitin Menon loves every batter apart from Kohli.

— TakeADeepBreath (@DeepTake) July 28, 2023

Over the course of time, there have been several occasions when Menon had adjudicated Kohli out in contentious circumstances, sparking widespread discussions on social media each time. In one instance during the Border-Gavaskar series at home in March, Kohli had humorously taunted Menon after Travis Head survived a review call from India during the 4th Test. The former Indian skipper playfully remarked, "Mai hota to out tha (Would have been out if I was the batter)," which prompted a smile from Menon, who promptly raised his finger.