Virat Kohli‘s performance in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia went through another failure in the second innings of the Melbourne Test on Monday when India needed their iconic batter to lead the fight on the final day, while chasing a big target. It invited a scathing remark on Kohli’s stature by the former Australia batter Simon Katich.
Australia set India a daunting 340 to win, but the hosts got off to a poor start — slipping to 33 for 3, with Rohit Sharma (9), KL Rahul (0) and Kohli (5) all back in the hut.
When Kohli was caught in the slips off Mitchell Starc in the final over before lunch, Katich remarked on commentary, “The king is dead.”
Kohli scored 5 in his first innings of the opening Test, but followed it up with a century (100*) to play a key role in India’s win at Perth. Since then, his form has again dipped with knocks of 7, 11, 3, 36 and 5.
He aggregates 167 runs in seven innings for an average of 27.83.
“The King is dead,” Katich said. “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.
Bumrah’s exceptional bowling performance has been crucial for India in the Test series, claiming 30 wickets at an impressive average of 12.83.
His tally of wickets in Tests has reached 203 from 44 matches.
The post-lunch session saw India stage a recovery through Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who displayed resilience whilst building an important 88-run partnership. Their efforts were undone after tea when Pant’s injudicious choice of shot resulted in his dismissal for 30.
Jaiswal fought a lone battle, scoring 88 before he was dismissed by Cummins. He had scored 82 in the first innings.
The visiting team’s batting collapsed dramatically, losing their final seven wickets whilst adding merely 34 runs.
The Indian side would feel regretful about this outcome, as they had a genuine opportunity to secure a draw. Instead, they suffered a defeat that put them behind 1-2 in the five-Test series, with one remaining match scheduled at Sydney.
