After scoring a century in the second innings of the first Test against Australia in Perth, Virat Kohli’s form took another dramatic turn. The talismanic batsman was eliminated after scoring just seven runs before being dismissed in the first session of day one of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide on Friday. Kohli was caught following a 6th-7th bowled by Mitchell Starc. Stump delivery chased as he pushed the ball into the hands of Steve Smith at second slip. The manner in which Kohli was sacked left former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar furious.

While it is still a problem for Kohli to deal with the swinging outside off delivery, Manjrekar was rather disappointed that the Indian star did not find another way to tackle this problem.

“A big reason why Virat’s average has now dropped to 48 is the unfortunate weakness outside the outfield. But more important is his persistence in not trying any other way to tackle the problem,” Manjrekar wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

A big reason why Virat’s average has now dropped to 48 is the unfortunate weakness in the away game. But more important is his determination not to try any other way to address the problem.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 6, 2024

Ideally, Kohil should have given up on the delivery, but he found a reason to get involved. From the shot that Kohli played, he too seemed to be in two minds about whether to give up the shot or play. In the end, Starc and Australia benefited from his doubts.

Under overcast skies, Australia’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc went wild with the pink ball, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal LBW on the very first delivery of the game. After his departure, India tried to extend their innings with KL Rahul and Shubman Gill reaching a 69-run stand.

Australia recalled Starc into their bowling attack to break the promising partnership and he struck again with his double strike, removing Rahul and then Virat Kohli. Scott Boland then caught Gill LBW, taking India from 69/1 to 81/4 before the end of the first session.