Virat Kohli’s much-awaited return to competitive cricket has turned into a painful experience for his fans. After being dismissed for a duck in the first ODI in Perth, he was again out for zero in the ongoing second ODI against Australia in the three-match series in Adelaide.
This was Kohli’s second duck on Australian soil in ODIs – a country where he had never recorded a score of zero in his entire ODI career. It also marked the first time he has been dismissed for consecutive ducks in his career. Overall, the 36-year-old has now registered 18 ducks in 292 innings. As Kohli walked off, he acknowledged the Adelaide crowd by raising his right arm – probably for the final time at one of his favourite venues.
Australia won the toss and elected to field. The Indian openers made a slow start, adding only 17 runs off 37 balls before captain Shubman Gill was caught by Mitchell Marsh off the bowling of Xavier Bartlett on the first ball of the seventh over. Kohli then joined Rohit Sharma at the crease, but his stay in the middle was very brief, as he was dismissed on the fifth ball of the same over. The right-handed batter was trapped in front of the stumps by an incoming delivery from Bartlett, and umpire Sam Nogajski had no hesitation in giving him out.
The responsibility of taking India to a competitive total now rests on the shoulders of Rohit and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer.
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