Run-in with journalist at Melbourne Airport over family privacy issues
Fined by ICC on charge of shoulder-bumping Sam Konstas on the opening day of the Test
Blamed by at least one broadcast commentator for disastrous runout of his well-set batting partner Yashasvi Jaiswal
Heavily booed, and apparently shamed, by a section of the crowd as he walks past them into the pavilion following his dismissal
Virat Kohli has always had an aggressive intent around him on the field in whatever he does, whether it is aggressive gesturing over on-field events, his batting style, running between the wickets or verbal exchanges with opposition players. And fans loved him for that trait. That was when he was ‘King Kohli’, at the peak of his game.
But now that he is no longer in peak form, he is running into controversies because of this very trait. The current tour of Australia, and more pertinently the Melbourne Test, is proving to be a near nightmare for him.
First, the run-in with a journalist of an Australian broadcaster at the Melbourne airport when he objected to his family being filmed without his permission; then the mid-wicket shoulder bump he gave the then rampaging Aussie debutant opener Sam Konstas during the changeover between overs on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test, for which he was heavily penalised by the ICC; and today’s confrontation with the booing crowd following his dismissal.
He was also squarely blamed by at least one broadcast commentator for the disastrous runout of set opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, just before his own dismissal, which triggered a mini batting collapse and dented India’s spirited fightback close to stumps on Day Two.
At close of play on Friday, India wee 164/5, still trailing Australia’s first innings total by 310 runs with Rishab Kant and Ravindra Jadeja at the crease on 6 and 4 runs respectively.
Earlier in the day Steve Smith completed his well-deserved century, his second successive ton in the series, and went on to compile 140 runs (197 balls, 13x4s, 3x6s), and aided by a near half century by captain Pat Cummins (49, 7x4s) and valuable contributions from other bowlers, Australia amassed 474 runs.
Bizarre dismissal
Smith’s dismissal was as bizarre as it can get. He charged at a delivery from Akash Deep to hit it out of the ground, got a thick inside edge to ball, which after ricocheting from his pad, rolled quite a distance onto the stumps, knocking off the bails.
Captain Rohit Sharma, under tremendous pressure with his string of failures with the bat, back in his slot as opener alongside young Yashasvi Jaiswal, disappointed fans once again, misjudging and mistiming his favourite pull shot against Cummins for a simple running catch at mid-on. His contribution just three runs.
Worst tour with bat by a captain
Statistically, Rohit Sharma is reportedly enduring the worst tour with the bat by a touring Test captain ever to come to Australia. His dismissal for 3 today saw his series average fall to 5.50, the lowest by a visiting skipper to have played at least two Tests in a series on Aussie shores. His failure against today also called into question his decision to elevate himself from No.6 and break up the successful Jaiswal-KL Rahul opening partnership.
KL Rahul, who revelled as an opener in previous innings, came in next and he along with Jaiswal looked in fine nick. They stitched together a good second wicket partnership of 43 runs before Rahul’s stumps were knocked over by a peach of a delivery from Cummins at the stroke of tea when he was on 24.
Kohli also set into his groove quite comfortably, consciously leaving alone the outgoing deliveries. As the comfort level grew, Jaiswal started to free his arms. The duo posted a century partnership, and all looked good for India in their gritty fightback, before disaster struck close of stumps.
Run out that added to Aussie momentum
Yashasvi (at 82, 118 balls, 11x4s, 1×6) ) punched one from Scott Boland to mid-on and called for a quick single, to which Kohli appeared to respond initially, taking a couple of steps, before inexplicably looking back at the ball and shouting NO!
By this time Jaiswal, darting for the run, was more than halfway down the pitch and could not break his momentum. Both batsmen found themselves on the same end making it easy for Cummins and wicketkeeper Alex Carey to do the rest.
A dejected Jaiswal while walking away appeared to gesture to Kohli that it was his call.
Apparently unsettled by the mix-up, Kohli, due to a lapse in concentration, did what he was diligently avoiding all this while, fending at a Scott Boland delivery outside the off stump and edging it straight into the gloves of Carey. His patient knock yielded 36 runs (86 balls, 4x4s).
Akash Deep, sent in as a night watchman, too perished for a duck. He faced 13 balls.
India lost three wickets for just 6 runs (Jaiswal 153/3, Kohli 154/4 and Akash Deep 159/5).
With 310 runs still in arrears, responsibility rests largely on seasoned campaigners Rishab Pant and Ravindra Jadeja to play long innings, though India have the additional cushion in the batting prowess of Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy, the latter having had an outstanding run with the bat so far in the series.
