Virat Kohli was dismissed for a solitary run against New Zealand© X (Twitter)


India’s talismanic batter Virat Kohli squandered another opportunity to return to form, after being clean bowled by Mitchell Santner for just 1 run. Kohli came out to bat in the morning session of the second Test in Pune after Shubman Gill was dismissed LBW for 30 runs. Playing his 9th ball of the innings, Kohli misjudged the trajectory of the ball and saw him shatter his stumps. After failing to fire in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test against the Kiwis, Kohli once again disappointed with the bat in the first innings of the second Test.

Looking to sweep a fuller delivery from Santner, Kohli ended up getting yorked, with the ball going through the gap between his bat and the ball to hit the stumps. Kohli had a stunned look on his face as he realised that he had to walk back to the pavilion. 

Virat Kohli hasn’t fared as well against spinners in Asia Asia since 2021. From the 26 innings he has played, Kohli has gone on to score 606 runs while being dismissed a total of 21 times. In these games, he averages 28.85 and had a strike-rate of 49.67.

No matter the format, Kohli hasn’t shown the sort of form that made him a world beater of late. Recently, he was also overtaken by Rishabh Pant in the ICC Test rankings for batters.

Washington Sundar was the top wicket-taker for India in the first innings, bagging 7 wickets while Ashwin complemented him with 3 scalps as the Kiwis were bowled out for 259.

Even India captain Rohit Sharma failed to put up a big score on the board, was dismissed for a duck on the 9th ball he faced. 

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