Sydney [Australia], January 3 (ANI): India talisman batter Virat Kohli who had delivered top performances in the past has been going through a rough patch currently at the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
Kohli holds many elusive landmarks which are hard to break but his current poor form has pushed him under the scanners. Earlier, the 36-year-old had pulled Team India on his shoulders and achieved many accolades in Test cricket. However, people have started to criticize him for his consecutive poor knocks in Tests.
As it stands, Australia pacer Scott Boland, who was added to the BGT squad mid-series, has become Kohli’s worst nightmare.
The 36-year-old, who’s often called the greatest cricketer of all time started the ongoing BGT series on a good note, and the fans hoped the batter will maintain consistency in the series. However, Kohli failed his fans with a poor show with the bat.
In the Perth Test of the BGT 2024-25, Kohli played an unbeaten 100-run knock from 143 balls at a strike rate of 69.93 during India’s second inning, which helped the tourist clinch a massive 295-run victory over the mighty Aussies.
Kohli was full of confidence as he stepped onto the crease at the Adelaide Oval following his century in Perth. However, it didn’t take time for Kohli to break Indian fans’ hearts, as he was dismissed for just 7 runs from 8 balls at a strike rate of 87.50 by Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc in the first inning.
Later in the second inning at Adelaide Oval, the Indian batter could score only 11 runs from 21 balls before he succumbed against Scott Boland. Australia made a massive comeback in the game as the hosts clinched a massive 10-wicket victory over India. After the second Test, Australia levelled the series 1-1 to India.
Following defeat in Adelaide, Team India travelled to Brisbane to take on Australia for the third Test match of the series. Even though the Brisbane Test was drawn following incessant rain, Kohli still let his fans down.
In the first inning at The Gabba, Kohli played a three-run knock from 16 balls and got dismissed against Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood.
Cricket fans expected a blitz knock from Kohli at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. However, the star India batter again continued his poor form.
Kohli scored 36 runs from 86 balls at a strike rate of 41.86 at the Melbourne Test. Later in the inning, Kohli was again dismissed by Boland.
In the second inning, the 36-year-old played a disappointing knock of just five runs from 29 balls and was dismissed by Aussie pacer Starc.
India conceded an 184-run defeat against Australia in the Melbourne Test, following their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-2025 fades away.
Cricket fans expected a glimpse of Kohli’s comeback in the Sydney Test. But the India batter was unsuccessful in turning things around.
The 36-year-old again displayed a sloppy performance in Sydney and could score only 17 runs from 69 balls. He was again dismissed by Boland on Friday.
All the seven times he was dismissed in the ongoing BGT series against Australia, Kohli has been caught either by the Aussie wicketkeeper or in the slips after getting an edge from the outside off stump deliveries.
The statistics show that the Aussie pacer Boland stands as the worst nightmare of Kohli in Tests. The Indian batter faced Boland in six innings in the long format and has scored only 32 runs at a strike rate of 32.65 against the Aussie pacer. Kohli’s overall batting average against Boland is just 8.
Boland has got rid of Kohli four times in Tests. At the ongoing prestigious BGT series, Boland dismissed the Indian middle-order batter three times. The other one came at the WTC Final in 2023 at The Oval, when Kohli succumbed to Boland’s pace.
With India going through a transition in their Test cricket team, Kohli needs to come back to his original form to keep his place in the squad. As Indian cricket fans continue to hope for a miracle from the 36-year-old. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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