India’s first ODI against Australia in Perth had started off on a rocky note with their two stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, departing with just 21 runs on board. While former India skipper Rohit Sharma’s stay in the middle lasted just 14 balls with the opener scoring eight runs, Kohli was sent back by Mitchell Starc for an eight-ball duck. India then slumped to 25/3 with captain Shubman Gill also departing for 10 off 18.
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Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were playing their first games for India in nearly seven months since both players have retired from T20Is and Tests. Kohli is playing his first competitive game after leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their first title in the Indian Premier League in June 2025.
Here are some stats about Kohli’s short stint in the middle and India’s top order slump
This is the first time that Kohli has been dismissed for a duck in Australia in ODIs. It is also the third duck against Australia for him.
This is Kohli’s second-longest innings while recording a duck in ODIs, facing eight balls. He was previously dismissed for a nine-ball duck by England during the 2023 World Cup in Lucknow.
This is Kohli’s 39th duck in international cricket. Only Zaheer Khan (43) and Ishant Sharma (40) have had more for India across formats.
Starc is only the second bowler to dismiss Kohli twice for a duck in international cricket after James Anderson.
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25 is the lowest total for India while losing the first three wickets in an ODI involving Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill.
Before the game, Kohli had said that he was feeling as fit as ever even though he had not played for India since the Champions Trophy final.
“Well to be honest, the amount of cricket I’ve played over the last 15-20 years, I’ve actually not rested at all if that makes sense. I’ve probably played the most number of games in the last 15 years in international cricket, combining the IPL together as well. So for me, it was a very refreshing time off. I’m feeling as fit if not fitter than I’ve ever been before and yeah you can just feel the freshness when you know you can play the game and mentally you know what to do out there it’s just the physical preparation that really needs to be taken care of,” Kohli said in a chat with Ravi Shastri and Adam Gilchrist on Fox Sports.
Kohli was sent back to the hut by Starc with a luring ball outside the off stump that he felt compelled to drive, but in the process sent the ball to backward point, where Cooper Connolly dove and plucked the ball out of thin air.
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Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was deceived by the extra bounce from Josh Hazlewood.
As former India coach and cricketer Ravi Shastri noted in the commentary panel after Rohit Sharma’s dismissal: “(The ball was) Typical Hazlewood length. The hard length. Just getting it to nip away. Extra bounce again for the tall man, That’s the thing in Perth. In India, this ball would have bounced at least a foot lower. That’s the adjustment players have to make.”
