India’s star batter Virat Kohli’s return to international cricket didn’t go as planned, as he was dismissed for a four-ball duck in the second ODI against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Pacer Xavier Bartlett proved to be the wrecker-in-chief once again, striking twice in the same over to remove both Shubman Gill (9) and Kohli early in India’s innings.
This marked the first time in Kohli’s ODI career that he has fallen for back-to-back ducks, a rare occurrence for the prolific run-getter.
The Adelaide crowd, however, remained firmly behind him. Kohli received a rousing reception when he walked out to bat, a tribute to his incredible record at this venue — the most runs (975) by any visiting batter across formats.
After his brief four-ball stay, the cheers dimmed, but the fans still rose to give him an ovation, and Kohli — in a rare gesture — acknowledged it by waving goodbye as he walked back to the pavilion.
Kohli’s ODI numbers at Adelaide remain impressive — 244 runs in four innings at an average of 61.00, including two centuries, with a best of 107. One of those tons came during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup against Pakistan, making him the first Indian to score a World Cup century against the arch-rivals.
Currently, Kohli’s tally of 51 ODI centuries puts him on par with Sachin Tendulkar’s 51 Test hundreds. One more hundred would make him the sole holder of the record for the most centuries by a batter in a single format.
Earlier in the day, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to bowl. Having already taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with a seven-wicket win in Perth, Australia looked to seal the contest in Adelaide.