Another day, another Virat Kohli dismissal off a debutant. After losing his wicket to Todd Murphy in the Nagpur Test, Kohli was dismissed by Matthew Kuhnemann in the first innings of the second Test match between India and Australia at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Following Kohli’s dismissal, a fan’s banner went viral on social media. TV cameras had spotted a fan holding a banner saying, “Debutant ko wicket gift mat karna king.’ This is the 20th time in his Test career that Kohli has been dismissed by a player making his Test debut. This was Kuhnemann’s first wicket in Test cricket.
Kohli’s dismissal proved to be a big point of contention, as the man himself and the Indian team management were shocked by the decision. Kohli immediately reviewed the on-field call after it looked like he had edged the ball. Despite replays suggesting the ball had touched the bat and pad at the same time, the third umpire stuck with the on-field call. The ball tracking system showed that the decision was the umpire’s, and Kohli had to walk back.
Kohli, who has not scored a half-century in Test cricket for 13 months, looked in fine touch and was dominating the Australian spinners before being dismissed for a score of 44. Kohli’s dismissal left India in big trouble at 135-6.
Despite India’s batting failure, the lower-order has once again come to the rescue, with Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin putting up a partnership of more than 50 runs. Axar Patel has scored a half-century for the second innings in a row and put India on the brink of taking the lead. Nathan Lyon has taken a 5-wicket haul for Australia after they put up a first inning score of 263.
Australia are looking to bounce back after losing the first Test match.
