Former India captain Virat Kohli, who was coming off a brilliant 166* against Sri Lanka, was caught napping by New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner in the ongoing first ODI of the three-match series being played in Hyderabad on January 18, 2023.
Many expected Kohli to continue his fiery form with the bat which brought him 3 centuries in four ODIs. He came into bat after India lost captain Rohit Sharma at the score of 60 in the 13th over. He played a magnificent drive but was then found wanting by left-arm spinner Santner.
On the second ball of the 16th over, Santner bowled a perfect line on the middle stump and the ball dipped on Kohli instead of playing forward, Kohli went on the backfoot to defend the ball.
Rishabh Pant’s lucky escape a wake-up call for young speedsters- Sunil Gavaskar
However, Santner managed to get the ball to turn slightly and the off-stump was disturbed, ending Kohli’s knock on 8 runs in 10 balls.
After being dismissed, Kohli gave a shocked reaction as he didn’t expect the ball to turn.
Check it out here:
This was the fifth time he was dismissed to a left-arm spinner since 2021. Before the start of this match, his numbers against left-arm spin were the worst. He averaged only 18 and had a strike rate of 71.
Kohli has the worst strike rate (71 in 11 matches) against Santner among all spinners in the world, who got him for the second time in ODIs.
Sunil Gavaskar on commentary was not happy with Kohli as he felt that he had handled the ball incorrectly.
"He's played inside the line, therefore allowing the ball to turn just that little bit to go past the outside edge. He has played back to a ball that he should have played forward to. It wasn't a short ball. It just turned a little bit and it went past his outside edge of a batter who is in tremendous form," he said during commentary on Star Sports.
