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Virat Kohli puts his arm around Travis Head, has a word, he gets out next ball
Virat Kohli hasn't had an impact with the bat, but small mind games might have played a tiny role in helping dismiss Travis Head in Adelaide.
Virat Kohli has had a series to forget upon his return to international cricket, stringing together two consecutive ducks in the first two matches in the ODI series against Australia. While he has failed to announce himself with the bat with zero runs and twelve balls faced, sparking a lot of questions, he still managed to have some form of an impact while in the field.
During India’s defence of 265 in Adelaide in the second ODI, cameras picked up an interaction between Virat Kohli and Travis Head that might have led to the Australian batter’s wicket, at least in part. Between the 12th and 13th over, Kohli approached Head and put an arm around his shoulders, with the Aussie batting on 28* off 39 at that time.
Whatever Kohli said to Head in that moment seemed to have an impact, as Head faced up against Harshit Rana and lobbed a leading edge straight into the air, for Kohli himself to settle under and pouch easily.
It was a big moment in the chase, seeing the back of an Australian player who had massively haunted the Indian bowlers in the past – memorably in this particular format, with his century during the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
India lose series after going down 2-0
It remains a mystery what exactly Kohli said to Head in that moment, but it seemed to have an impact: Head is the kind of batter who can turn games around once he is set, but that temporary lapse of concentration proved to be his downfall. India's joy at the moment was
Despite the touch of mind games helping out India and potentially putting them in the driver’s seat with the wickets of Mitchell Marsh and Head early in the chase, they weren’t able to push home their advantage. Australia were able to stitch together partnerships through the middle overs, and at a good scoring rate to keep the pressure on the Indian bowlers.
India will rue a couple of dropped chances that would have dismissed Matt Short early in his innings, as the number three batter went on to score 74 runs in the chase. Even after he was dismissed, Australia flexed their lower order power via Mitchell Owen and Cooper Connolly, who delivered on his immense promise with an excellent innings of 61* to seal the deal.
