Retirement calls got louder for Virat Kohli as the former India captain began his Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024 on Friday on a sour note at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday. Coming into bat at No.4 after the departure of Devdutt Padikkal, the stylish right-hander managed just five runs in his 12-ball stay before being undone by extra bounce off Josh Hazlewood.
Kohli, who has been going through a tough time in Test cricket recently, took time to settle in before opening his account with a single off Hazlewood in the 15th over. The next over, Kohli drove Pat Cummins beautifully through mid-on for three runs.
However his departure was written on the wall in the next over. Seeing Kohli pressing on the front foot every delivery, Hazlewood shortened his length as the ball rose sharp to take Kohli off-guard as it kissed the bat shoulder to travel to the first slip at Usman Khawaja.
Earlier, in the New Zealand series at home, Kohli could manage just 250 runs in six innings, including one fifty-plus score. The former skipper’s poor form welcomed social media criticisms at large.
“Virat Kohli should consider hanging up his boots if he doesn’t get his form back in this test series,” one user wrote in frustration on X. Another user said, “Virat Kohli is all hype and no play!!”
Another user posted, “All that hype around Virat Kohli is only before the start of a tournament. After the start, it’s just a walking wicket.”
Meanwhile, at lunch, India were tottering at 51/4. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and one-down Devdutt Padikkal failed to open accounts in their first Test outings in Australia while KL Rahul got out for 26 off 74 balls.
Earlier, India captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat first as pacer Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy made Test debuts. For Australia, opener Nathan McSweeney also made his debut
