Kohli was dismissed by leg-spinner Rishad Hossain for 22 off 38 balls in India's CT opener.
The star batter was dismissed by leg-spinner Rishad Hossain for 22 off 38 balls at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. In the chase of 229, Kohli came to the crease when India were 69/1 but he struggled to get into any rhythm before eventually cutting Rishad to backward point.
As a result, Kohli’s poor form across formats continued as he was dismissed for sixth consecutive time in ODIs. Out of his last six dismissals, five have been against the wrist spin.
“It is to a great extent due to the fact that the bat face opens up, same thing happens when, when he's playing against the quicks in Australia. The bat face opening up, looking to play through the covers, opening the face of the bat, that gets him into trouble,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“So that is something that he's got to watch out for. A couple of times before he got out, he reached for Rishad, the ball turned, the bat face opened, and luckily the bat face opened, and so there was no nick. So that is something that he'll have to tighten up on now. But yes, I guess if you're getting out to the same kind of bowling, then you, you, you, there is a, there's a bit of concern there,” he added.
Since 2024, Virat Kohli has amassed 137 runs from six ODI innings at an average of 22.83, including one half-century. His poor form, especially in the ODI format comes as a surprise, as he had a record-breaking campaign in the ODI World Cup, accumulating 765 runs from 11 matches.
Kohli will be keen to make amends in India’s next Champions Trophy match against arch-rivals Pakistan, scheduled for February 23 in Dubai.