A catching controversy has rocked the SCG early on Day 1 of the fifth Test between Australia and India, with Virat Kohli given a life first ball after chaos in the hosts slips cordon.

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Striding to the crease with his side reeling at 2/17, the 36-year-old Indian veteran edged a length delivery from Scott Boland towards second slip, where Smith reached low to his right with an outstretched hand.

The Kookaburra smacked his palm before becoming wedged between his thumb and index finger, awkwardly scooping the ball into the air.

Marnus Labuschagne at gully completed what appeared to be a spectacular catch, prompting wild celebrations from the Australians, but Kohli was unmoved, with umpires sending the decision upstairs.

However, third umpire Joel Wilson deemed that the ball in Smith’s hand had some form of assistance from the ground while flicking the ball up, handing Kohli a massive reprieve that left the former Australian captain shaking his head in disbelief.

“That ball (is) just touching the ground,” Wilson said before telling the on-field umpires of his decision of not out.

Speaking at Fox Cricket’s Isa Guha at the lunch break on Day 1, the Australian superstar was absolutely adamant that his assist up to Labuschagne was above board.

“100 per cent; no denying it whatsoever, 100 per cent. But the umpire’s made the decision and we’ll move on,” Smith stated.

“The Australian fans will feel like they’ve been robbed, the Indian fans, desperate relief,” former England bowler Guha said on Fox Cricket commentary at the time of the dismissal.

Australian greats Mark Waugh and Allan Border analysed the non-dismissal in the moments after the decision, each unsure on the final verdict handed down.

“I think that’s out; I think that’s very close to touching the grass but I think he rolled underneath it with his finger,” Waugh told Fox Cricket.

“I think he’s got away with one there Kohli, but that’s the way the game goes. I suppose you can look at it two ways, beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. I think evidence suggests he just had his finger underneath it.”

“It looks like he had enough hand underneath the ball … it’s so close, it’s hard to tell,” Border added.

“You try to be as neutral as possible when analysing these things .. when you see it like that, to me, that’s just out.”

Speaking at the drinks break in the first session, former England captain Michael Vaughan and Australian Women’s skipper Alyssa Healy gave their verdicts on the decision.

“You need a little bit of fortune as a batter, and I think Virat Kohli has had that fortune on (his first ball). I think that’s out. Australia should have had their third wicket,” Vaughan stated.

“It’s a tricky one, because if you watch that in live motion, it looks out – and Steve Smith obviously felt like he got a hand underneath it as well,” Healy added.

“But in the modern day with the rulings that they’ve got, if (it looks like) any little piece of ball on the ground, the umpire’s more telling to say it’s not out.”