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Ace batter Virat Kohli could not record a single run upon his return to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru after an early dismissal. He departed for a nine-ball duck to William O'Rourke on Day 2 of the first Test between India and New Zealand on Thursday, October 17.
The right-handed batter was bumped up to No. 3 in Shubman Gill's absence. The latter missed out on the playing XI due to a stiff neck, with Sarfaraz Khan replacing him.
After the opening day was washed out due to rain, Team India opted to bat first under heavy overcast conditions. The new ball bowlers - Tim Southee and Matt Henry - made the most of the new ball by getting it to move all over the place.
Kohli came into bat after Southee had castled Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (2) in the seventh over. He had to be watchful against the moving ball, and after negotiating the remainder of the Southee over, was up against William O'Rourke.
The menacing tall pacer, who had a solid series against Sri Lanka recently, troubled Kohli with his pace and the bounce he extracted off the wicket. After five consecutive testing deliveries, O'Rourke hit the right spot by getting the back-of-the-length delivery to jag back in with extra bounce.
Kohli tried to fend off the delivery in an awkward fashion, but could only guide the delivery to leg gully after making contact with his glove. Glenn Phillips took a sharp catch to end the batter's short stay at the crease.
Have a look at the dismissal right here:
After scoring a ton and a fifty on his first red-ball appearance at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, a string of poor scores have followed. Virat Kohli scored only 36 runs across both innings in his previous outing at the venue in a pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka in 2022.
Virat Kohli's last Test duck came against New Zealand as well
The last instance where Virat Kohli recorded a duck in red-ball cricket came in late 2021 when he was trapped LBW by Ajaz Patel at the Wankhede Stadium.
India's woes have compounded after electing to bat first. After Kohli's departure, Sarfaraz Khan followed suit by recording a three-ball duck. The Mumbai batter, coming in at No. 4, tried to take on the opposition bowling attack, but was undone by a brilliant diving catch by Devon Conway. As of now, India are tottering at 13-3 in the 13th over of the innings.
