Virat Kohli’s return to the Adelaide Oval, a ground that has often witnessed his finest performances, turned into an unexpectedly painful chapter on Thursday. For the first time in his glorious ODI career, the Indian batting maestro was dismissed for back-to-back ducks. Having fallen for an eight-ball duck in the series opener at Perth, Kohli endured another brief stay in Adelaide, departing for a four-ball duck after India were asked to bat first against Australia.
The moment that silenced the crowd came courtesy of a sharp delivery from young pacer Xavier Bartlett. The ball nipped back into Virat Kohli who tried to flick it through mid-wicket but missed completely. It struck him right in front of the stumps, leaving the umpire with little doubt. Bartlett’s jubilant appeal was followed by the umpire’s raised finger, confirming Kohli’s dismissal. After a short conversation with his batting partner Rohit Sharma, Kohli chose not to review the decision.
As he walked off, the Adelaide crowd, well aware of his rich history at this venue, stood to applaud him. Virat Kohli, visibly disappointed but gracious as ever, acknowledged the gesture with a raised hand.
It was at this very ground that he had scored two magnificent ODI centuries, 107 against Pakistan in 2015 and 104 against Australia in 2019, part of the five centuries he has registered at Adelaide across formats.
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This duck was the 18th of Virat Kohli’s ODI career, placing him joint-third among Indians, behind Sachin Tendulkar with 20 and Javagal Srinath with 19. The rare failure has inevitably sparked conversations about his future, though his legacy remains untouchable.
For India, the match carried extra importance. Trailing 0–1 after losing the rain-affected first ODI by seven wickets, they needed a win to keep the three-match series alive.
Virat Kohli’s silence with the bat may have surprised many but his story at Adelaide and in world cricket is far from over.
