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For the nth time, Virat Kohli went out chasing a delivery way outside the off stump. Josh Hazlewood lured him into a trap and Kohli edged one to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. However, the Australian players rushed to congratulate Mitchell Starc who was fielding at deep fine leg.
On the first ball of the eighth over of India's first innings, Hazlewood bowled a bouncer and KL Rahul played the pull shot. The ball was racing towards the boundary but Starc put in a full-length dive to save three runs for the side and brought Kohli on strike.
Kohli who was not looking comfortable at the crease went for a drive and became Hazlewood's first victim on comeback after missing the pink-ball Test. The 36-year-old scored just three runs from 16 balls. This was the 11th time he was dismissed by Hazlewood in international cricket.
Before Kohli walked out to bat, in-form left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc struck twice with the new ball. Starc's first wicket came off the second ball of the innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to flick it but found Mitchell Marsh. On the first ball of his second over, Shubman Gill played a ball away from his body and Marsh took a spectacular catch diving to his left.
As rain interrupted play, India were 22/3 at the end of first session. An early lunch was taken on Day 3. There were three rain interruptions in the first session.
Kohli edging deliveries to wicketkeeper and slip cordon
This was Kohli's third disappointing score in a row. He departed for 7 and 11 in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval. His first century of the year came in Perth Test in the second innings.
Meanwhile, Kohli's average against Australia in Tests has fell well below 50. In the ongoing tour, he has scored 123 runs from five innings so far at an average of 30.75. He has been caught behind by the wicketkeeper or in the slip cordon four times in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
