Senior India batter walked out to bat at number three for India in a Test for the first time in eight years during the first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.
After the first day was washed out due to rain, India opted to bat first on Day 2 morning. After skipped Rohit Sharma was cleaned up by Tim Southee in the seventh over, Kohli surprisingly walked in at number three for the first time in whites since 2016.
Kohli, however, was dismissed for an eight-ball duck by Kiwi pacer William O’Rourke after being bumped out to leg gully.
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While the No. 3 position has been associated with the former India captain in ODIs, Kohli has predominantly batted at No. 4 after establishing himself in the Test line-up. Kohli’s move came after India’s current No. 3 Shubman Gill was ruled out of the match due to neck stiffness, prompting the inclusion of Sarfaraz Khan, who walked in at No. 4.
However, Sarfaraz too was dismissed for a duck by Matt Henry, leaving India three down for 12 runs.
Kohli last played at No. 3 in West Indies in August 2016. He has only played seven innings in the position, recording 97 runs at an average of 16.16. Contrarily, the 35-year-old has amassed 7355 runs at No. 4, averaging 52.53 for 25 hundreds and 21 fifties in his name.
Kohli was also making his 536th appearance for India across formats, making him the second-most capped India player Sachin Tendulkar (664), surpassing MS Dhoni (535).
Kohli also assumed the dubious record of having the most ducks among active players across formats, with his 38th blob in internationals, equalling New Zealand’s Tim Southee.
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