The Indian legend Virat Kohli has endured a shocking downturn in the ongoing three-match series against Australia. The superstar batsman has recorded the first back-to-back ducks of his illustrious ODI career, an unbelievable stat for one of the greatest run-scorers. Kohli, who made his return to the Indian team after seven months, struggled in the first ODI in Perth, where he fell for an eight-ball duck.
And the hopes for his comeback were quickly dashed when he was trapped lbw for a four-ball duck in the second ODI on Thursday in Adelaide, extending his slump. Kohli was looking to review the umpire’s decision but decided against it after having discussions with Rohit Sharma at the other end. This is the first time in his ODI career that he has failed to score in two consecutive innings. The twin failures have come as a major shock to Kohli, who is eyeing participation in the ODI World Cup 2027.
Kohli's sole focus is now on ODI cricket, having already retired from both Test and T20Is. His decision to continue in ODIs is propped up by his ambition to feature in the 2027 World Cup. However, this unexpected dip in performance comes as a massive setback for him. Meanwhile, Kohli will hope to bring out his A game and overcome batting vulnerabilities in the third and final ODI, which is scheduled to be held on Sunday at SCG. Earlier, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to field.
Australia XI: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa.
India XI: Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.