Virat Kohli’s poor form at the Sydney Cricket Ground continued as he was dismissed for 21 by Josh Hazlewood in the ODI against Australia.
Australia notched up 374/6 thanks to centuries from Aaron Finch and Steve Smith. However, Indian cricket fans were not too concerned about this. Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket team captain, is acknowledged as the ultimate chase master and when he is in full flow, every target is achievable. Australia had not helped themselves with the ball, with Mitchell Starc conceding 20 runs in a 11-ball opening over. India had raced to 53/0 in five overs and it was the perfect start for the visitors in such a big chase. However, Josh Hazlewood removed Mayank Agarwal for 22 and in came Virat Kohli.
Virat Kohli got a big life on 1 when he got a massive top edge to fine leg off Pat Cummins but Adam Zampa put the catch down. That resulted in plenty of fans on social media speculating that Zampa was being too loyal to the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain but the Australia legpspinner was livid. The memories of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 had not faded away for Indian fans, when Kohli had top-edged a short ball from Mitchell Johnson to be caught by Brad Haddin for 1.
Virat Kohli pounced on the chance and scored two glorious boundaries off Cummins. In the ninth over, he continued to target Cummins as he non-chalantly flicked a full ball to deep square leg for a glorious six. However, in the 10th over, Josh Hazlewood struck twice as he removed Virat Kohli. The ball was short and slow as Kohli advanced down the track only to be cramped for room and he mistimed it to Aaron Finch at short midwicket. Two balls later, Shreyas Iyer also departed to stall India’s momentum.
Kohli’s poor SCG record
If there is one venue where Virat Kohli has struggled in Australia when it comes to ODIs, it is the Sydney Cricket Ground. In five previous matches at this venue, Virat Kohli has managed scores of 3,8,1,3 and 21. Even in this match, he fell for 21, taking his average from six games at the venue to a miserable 11.4.
Kohli has one more chance to overcome his poor record at the Sydney Cricket Ground when the teams clash for the second ODI on Sunday. However, for the first ODI, Australia hold the upper hand and it will require something special from the middle order to bail them out of trouble.
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