Former Australian batter Simon Katich took a hard dig at Virat Kohli’s dismissal during India’s second innings of the Boxing Day Test, saying “The king is dead,” when India’s star batter fell cheaply to Mitchell Starc for 5 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday. Set a challenging target of 340 runs, India suffered a major setback in the first session of Day 5. Kohli, batting on 3, was dismissed in the final over before the lunch break, edging a wide delivery from Mitchell Starc to the slips.
Kohli had a forgetful outing in the series so far; he started off with a dismal score of five before scoring a century in the second innings in the series opener in Perth. Since then, he has registered scores of 7, 11, 3, 36, and 5 in the next five innings, aggregating a total of 67 runs in four matches.
“The King is dead. He trudges off. King Bumrah has taken the mantle now. Kohli looks dejected with himself. That was a big knock for him. He has come up short. Australia will be very, very happy with the situation they find themselves in.”
Bumrah has almost singlehandedly kept India alive in this Test series, having taken 30 wickets at an average of 12.83 in eight innings. He has played 44 Test matches and taken 203 wickets.
Kohli’s dismissal left India reeling at 33 for 3 by the lunch interval, with their hopes of salvaging the Test hanging by a thread. Post lunch, India mounted a spirited fightback, courtesy of Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The pair exhibited composure and grit, stitching together a crucial 88-run stand. However, the resistance crumbled after the tea break, when Pant succumbed to a rush of blood as he was dismissed for 30.
The visitors’ lost their last seven wickets for 34 runs in 20.3 overs. The last Indian wicket fell with less than 14 overs remaining in the day, with Nathan Lyon dismissing Mohammed Siraj to send the MCG crowd in excess of 74,000 into raptures as an epic contest between the two arch-rivals came to an end.
For India, they will be disappointed, as it was a game that they could have drawn but have now ended up on the losing side.
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