Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck in his ODI comeback India’s opening ODI against Australia in Perth was largely one-sided as the visitors struggled to hit. The top order, including Rohit Sharma (8), Virat Kohli (0) and skipper Shubman Gill (10), faltered in overcast conditions and after being put into bat. After Gill’s dismissal, rain interruptions marred India’s innings four times. The most meaningful partnership came from KL Rahul (38) and Axar Patel (31) who added 39 runs with deliberate intent. Nitish Kumar Reddy showcased his six-hit ability with two towering maximums, but India could only manage 136 for 9 in the 26-over match. Indian fans came to the Optus Stadium in large numbers to support their side, but the failures of Rohit and Kohli highlighted an ordinary outing. Rohit, playing his 500th match for India, started with a sharp Mitchell Starc direct drive reminiscent of his past glory but was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood, whose sharp bounce caught an edge and was caught at second slip by debutant Matthew Renshaw.
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Loudly cheered when he walked in, Kohli failed to produce his usual ODI form. An off-stump from Starc eventually drew an edge which was caught by Cooper Connolly at backward point to end Kohli’s short eight-ball innings. Former India player Irfan Pathan said it looked like the demons of BGT were back for Kohli. “Fitness is one thing and game time is one thing. That’s why Rohit looked a bit worried. It looked like the demons of BGT came back for Virat. I hope that’s not the case in Adelaide and Sydney. KL Rahul batted well today. Shreyas Iyer was put in an awkward position. Maybe he’ll get a chance to work on his technique a bit more if he does well on YouTube. Axar ahead.” channel. “Whenever you travel to countries like this, it’s always better to go early and play some matches. It’s going to be tough for India. It’s going to be a challenge because the conditions aren’t going to be easy. Our bowlers couldn’t get the length right. The batsmen also had problems with bounce. If you played a game or two, these mistakes wouldn’t have happened. It’s important to think about these things going forward.”
