Team India had a disastrous start to their innings in the second ODI of the series in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, as the side lost half of its batter within 49 runs. After Australia captain Steve Smith invited India to bat first under overcast conditions at the ACA-VDCA Stadium, the side faced a setback in the only the third ball of the innings when Shubman Gill was dismissed on a duck off his second delivery of the match. Rohit Sharma, who made a return to the team after missing the first ODI in Mumbai, also departed on 13 off 15 balls.
Mitchell Starc continued to run through a hapless Indian batting order as Suryakumar Yadav departed on his first delivery yet again; he was trapped in front of the wickets this time as well.
Kohli did hold one end steady as KL Rahul (9) and Hardik Pandya (1) failed to make a mark too, and looked confident as he continued on his positive striking of the ball. However, just as it seemed that the India batter could forge a strong partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, Nathan Ellis struck in his very first over as he trapped Kohli in front of stumps.
Kohli had played a cross-batted shot but completely missed the line, as he was the sixth batter to depart in the innings. Before departing, the star batter had a brief chat with Ravindra Jadeja over the possibility of overturning the decision with DRS, but the latter had a rather resigned look on his face as Kohli walked back on 31.
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Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was on-air during Kohli’s dismissal on Star Sports, also expressed his frustration at the batter’s dismissal.
“He plays across the line once again. He knows that. That’s something he’s getting out quite regularly, playing across the line nowadays. Looking to play for square leg, not the mid on, that’s what gets him into trouble,” Gavaskar said.
Merely a few overs after Kohli’s dismissal, Jadeja also departed as he handed an easy catch to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, leaving the Indian team in big trouble in Visakhapatnam.
