Consistency holds the key to success and it differentiates the greatest players from the good ones. Virat Kohli is certainly one of the very best among them, but the manner in which he was dismissed in the Nagpur Test, that too just after coming from lunch break, was unacceptable for many by his standards.
The much-anticipated 28th Test hundred from Virat Kohli’s bat did not come on Friday during the first of the four-match series between India and Australia in Nagpur. The 34-year-old departed after scoring 12 off 26 balls on the first ball of the afternoon session, bowled by debutant Todd Murphy. Although Murphy got all four Indian wickets by the time of writing, it was probably the worst of his deliveries that rewarded him with success against the former Indian skipper.
The ball, bowled well outside the leg stump by Murphy, kept low but the line tempted Kohli to flick it in an attempt to add a couple of runs to his tally. However, all he got was a thin nick behind and Alex Carey’s brilliant glovework to grab the Kookaburra despite a fumble secured the prized wicket for the Kangaroos. Kohli, who enjoyed tremendous success lately, looked unhappy to lose his wicket in such fashion as did the netizens, who opined he could have easily played that ball better.
The former Indian skipper showed promises during his short stay before the lunch break, which included two fine fours, but he failed to chip in with anything substantial to take India’s lead to an untouchable distance. India, at the time of writing, were batting on 167/4 after bowling out Australia for 177 in the first innings.
Here is the video of the dismissal of Virat Kohli:
Here is how the Indian fans reacted to the dismissal of Virat Kohli:
"Big WICKET alert!
Kohli bites the dust on the first ball after lunch, impressive skills of Murphy! 😲#4thWicket #INDvsAUS #Cricket— Khiladi Adda (@KhiladiADDA) February 10, 2023
Todd Murphy dismissing Kohli and Pujara to bad balls is hilarious 😭😭
— harshith (@harshith8108377) February 10, 2023
Murphy's law for Kohli.
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) February 10, 2023
Kohli getting out to Murphy was the most obvious wicket of the day.
— denialandia (@fujiunc) February 10, 2023
Kohli’s problems against spin continue. Very ordinary delivery gets him after a lot of good bowling from debutant Murphy. #INDvAUS
— Prem Mohanty 🏏⚽️ (@philipbkk) February 10, 2023
Out of 4 Murphy's wickets , 3 have been purely purely gifted , 2 the leg side (kohli n pujara) whereas rahul too played an underconfident push, so it hurts , batting well and giving wickets on looseners🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️…#INDvsAUS #BorderGavaskarTrophy #ToddMurphy
— crickworm💀 (@UdayPra92484244) February 10, 2023
Australian plan to get Virat Kohli out : Get a new bowler in the team.
Murphy 🥲. #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/E5Ebci7e1l
— Akshat (@AkshatOM10) February 10, 2023
