IND vs AUS: Mitchell Starc becomes only second bowler in the world to record this historic feat after dismissing Virat Kohli for a duck

Virat Kohli's highly-anticipated ODI return didn't pan out the way fans expected it to be as Mitchell Starc got the better of India's superstar for a duck in the series opener in Perth on October 19. The legendary left-arm pacer secured the prised wicket of Virat Kohli on the first ball of the seventh over. The former India captain was dismissed without scoring after facing eight balls, caught by Cooper Connolly. This marked Kohli's fifth duck in 30 ODI innings played in Australia.

Mitchell Starc hunts down Virat Kohli for a duck

By dismissing Kohli for naught, Starc achieved a rare feat, joining England's James Anderson in an exclusive list. The Australian became only the second bowler in the world to have dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck on two separate occasions in international cricket. Starc's first instance of getting Kohli out for naught was on February 24, 2017. During the first innings of the Dharamsala Test, Starc dismissed Kohli for a two-ball duck.

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Sunday's eight-ball duck was Kohli's 39th zero in 551 international matches for India. He now has the third-most international ducks among Indian players, trailing only former pacers Zaheer Khan, who has 44, and Ishant Sharma, with 40.

Virat Kohli's highly-anticipated ODI return ends in dismay

Returning to international cricket after a 224-day absence, Virat Kohli's presence at Optus Stadium on Sunday drew an immense crowd of eager fans. They were keen to watch the star batter, who holds the record as the third-highest run-scorer in ODI history, back in action for India.

Unfortunately for the spectators, the much-anticipated return ended in disappointment as Kohli was dismissed for a duck, meaning he walked off the field without scoring any runs. This zero score is the 39th of his career across 551 matches for India. Among all Indian players, only Zaheer Khan (44) and Ishant Sharma (40) have recorded more zero scores in international cricket than Kohli.

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Multiple rain interruptions forced the first ODI between India and Australia to be reduced to a 26-over-per-side contest.

India's batting struggled to gain momentum. They ultimately posted a lowly total of 136/9 in their 26 overs. This subdued performance was largely due to effective bowling from the opposition, with Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Owen, and Matthew Kunhemann each claiming two wickets.

India's Playing XI:

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh

Australia's Playing XI:

Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(w), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood