Virat Kohli’s poor form with the bat continued in the third and final One Day International (ODI) against England at Old Trafford on Sunday. It was the fifth consecutive game where Kohli was dismissed on a below-par score - 17 off 22 balls.
Chasing a target of 260, India were 21/2 when Kohli came in to bat. However, Kohli once again got out in the same manner he was dismissed in the second ODI.
This time, it was Reece Topley who bowled a good-length delivery outside off-stump and it tricked Kohli into slightly nicking the ball, and it went straight to the wicketkeeper. In the second ODI, Kohli was trapped by David Willey who also bowled a good length ball, and Kohli edged it into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
Even in the third and final T20I against England, Kohli was caught on a good length ball, pitched outside off stump, he tried to loft it but didn’t get the necessary elevation and it went straight into the hands of Jason Roy at short cover.
Here is a table on the last five performances of Kohli:
1 | 3rd ODI vs England | 17 (22) |
2 | 2nd ODI vs England | 16 (25) |
3 | 3rd T20I vs England | 11 (6) |
4 | 2nd T20I vs England | 1 (3) |
5 | 5th Test against England | First Innings:11 (19) Second Innings: 20 (40) |
Poor form continued from IPL: Kohli has seen a rough patch ever since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. Since he left the captaincy of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kohli was expected to deliver on his batting as the pressure was lessened from his shoulders.
However, Kohli’s form throughout the tournament was below average. In the whole tournament, Kohli had a strike rate of 115.99 and the average of 22.73. In 16 matches, Kohli scored 341 runs.
Support from Pakistani captain Babar Azam: Kohli received support from from Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam after his poor run continued against England. Azam shared a picture of Kohli with a caption: “This too shall pass. Stay Strong.”
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly also commented on Kohil’s recent slump in performance and said that it is a phase which every sportsperson goes through in his life. Speaking to news agency ANI, Ganguly cited his own example. He said that even Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid had been through this phase.