India's Virat Kohli walks off the field after losing his wicket during play on the last day of the fourth cricket test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)With a total of 67 runs in six innings except his century in the opening Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth in four Tests of the series, Indian batsman Virat Kohli’s struggles in Australia continued in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. At the end of the fourth Test, Kohli had an average of 11.66 out of those six innings.
On Tuesday, the 36-year-old fell once again to a delivery outside-off as he attempted a cover-drive to one such delivery by Mitchell Starc and Usman Khawaja taking an easy catch at the slips. It led to former Australian cricketer Simon Katich terming the moment as ‘The King is dead’.
“The King is dead. He trudges off. King Bumrah has taken the mantle now. Kohli looks dejected with himself. That was a big knock for him. He has come up short. Australia will be very, very happy with the situation they find themselves in,” Katich said while commentating on SEN Cricket.
Edged and caught behind the wicket, all of Virat Kohli's dismissals this series have had a common theme #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/5mz5SGcAbh
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 30, 2024
While he was dismissed for a 86-ball 36 in the first innings at Melbourne, the dismissal had come attempting a push to a length ball outside off by Scott Boland. The dismissal was almost similar to some other dismissals of Kohli in the series. In the third Test at Brisbane, Kohli had chased a straightened outside-off delivery by Josh Hazelwood as he could just make three runs. Former Australian cricketer James Brayshaw called Kohli a ‘nicking machine’ as he trudged off back to the dressing room on Tuesday. “Gone! He’s out flashing outside off stump… out of nowhere. It’s been pouched by Khawaja, and the third wicket falls. He has turned into a nicking machine,” former Australia cricketer James Brayshaw said while commentating on Triple M Radio.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar raised questions about the Indian batting coach and management Kohli’s struggles.
“It’s not so much about Virat Kohli. I want to know what the batting coach of India is doing. We can’t solve the obvious problem of such a fine player. Enough has been said about Virat. He’s a fine player going through a tough phase. We need to leave him alone and let him work through his issues. This isn’t just about Kohli’s form; it’s also a question of how the team management and batting coach are addressing these problems,” Manjrekar told Star Sports.
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