IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli overtakes Rohit Sharma in unwanted list with eight-ball duck on ODI return

After a seven-month break from international cricket Virat Kohli returned to India’s ODI lineup for the first match against Australia in Perth, with expectations high for him to restore his usual flair. However, his comeback at the Optus Stadium on Sunday was anticlimactic, as he failed to make an impact and was dismissed for an eight-ball duck. The dismissal occurred when Kohli faced a full-length delivery outside the off-stump from Mitchell Starc. Attempting an ambitious cover drive, the right-handed batter sent the ball flying straight to Cooper Connolly at point, ending his innings prematurely.

Virat Kohli bags embarrassing record with 8-ball duck in 1st ODI vs Australia

This marked the first time in his 30 ODI innings in Australia that Kohli had been out without scoring. This duck was his 17th in ODI cricket, an unfortunate milestone that moved him past Rohit Sharma on the list of Indian players with the most ducks in the format.

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Kohli now trails several former players in this specific ODI statistic. Sachin Tendulkar leads the list for India with 20 ducks, followed by Javagal Srinath (19), and both Yuvraj Singh and Anil Kumble (18). When factoring in all formats, this was Kohli's 39th duck in 551 international matches, placing him third all-time among Indian players. Only former pacers Zaheer Khan (44) and Ishant Sharma (40) have registered more international ducks for India.

Kohli's return to international cricket, after a 224-day absence, drew a massive crowd to Optus Stadium on Sunday. Fans were eager to watch the star batsman, who stands as the third-highest run-getter in ODI history, back in action. Consequently, expectations for his performance were exceptionally high. However, the much-anticipated comeback ended in shock. Kohli's unexpected dismissal left the fans stunned and put India on the back foot early in the first match of the three-game ODI series against Australia.  The dismissal also added to an unwanted statistical record. Across all formats, this was Virat Kohli’s 39th duck while batting in a top or middle-order position. This moves him past both Rohit Sharma (34 ducks in 533 innings) and Sachin Tendulkar (34 ducks in 782 innings) in this specific category.

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Australia fold India for 136/9

To complicate matters for both teams, the match itself was affected by the weather. Multiple rain interruptions in Perth forced the first ODI to be reduced to a 26-over-per-side contest. India ended up posting a lowly 136/9 in 26 overs, thanks to Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Kunhemann's two-fers apiece.

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