India’s star batter Virat Kohli failed to make a mark on his home Test return as he was dismissed for a single-digit score on Day 1 of the opening Test match against Bangladesh at Chepauk.
This was Kohli’s first Test match on Indian soil since March 2023 as he opted out of the England series earlier this year, citing personal reasons.
Kohli was given a rousing reception when he came out to bat at the M Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday (September 19). However, he couldn’t live up to the expectations, getting out for just 6.
While facing Hasan Mahmud, Virat played a loose shot outside the off-stump and wicketkeeper Litton Das made no mistake in completing the catch behind the stumps.
Virat Kohli’s dismissal saw the Indian innings getting reduced to 34/3 after 9.2 overs. All three wickets were taken by Mahmud.
As Kohli walked back to the pavilion, the camera panned towards the Indian dressing room, where skipper Rohit Sharma was seen visibly upset.
Before Kohli, India lost Rohit and Shubman Gill for single-digit scores as well. While the captain was dismissed for 6 off 19 balls, Gill fell for eight-ball duck.
At the toss, Rohit Sharma said that they would have opted to bowl first as well if the coin had landed in their favour.
"I would have done that as well (bowl first). Little soft, the pitch. It's going to be challenging conditions. We have prepared well, so we should back our potential and play the way we know. Looking at the 10 Test matches, every match is important. But we want to focus on what lies in front of us. We came here a week back, we had a good prep leading up to this one. We feel confident. Three seamers and two spinners - Bumrah, Akash Deep, Siraj, Ashwin and Jadeja," Rohit said.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.
