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Virat Kohli quietly cedes spotlight to Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer in unnoticed pre-anthem gesture at Perth ODI
Virat Kohli subtly ceded the spotlight to Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer during India’s national anthem walk in Perth ODI against Australia
The much-anticipated return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to international cricket after seven months fell flat on Sunday, as neither senior batter performed with the bat, and India failed to beat Australia in the opening ODI of the three-match series in Perth. Both were dismissed for 0 and 8 in India’s seven-wicket defeat in the rain-curtailed game at Optus Stadium.
Despite the poor batting show, Kohli and Rohit were seen in a jovial mood throughout, giving the impression that they had never been away from the team. Social media was flooded with clips of them, including one that surfaced on Monday and instantly went viral.
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In the clip, Kohli is seen walking ahead as the team took the field for the national anthem at the start of the first ODI against Australia. However, he stopped and moved aside to let new captain Shubman Gill take the front position. He then nudged newly-named ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer forward and followed thereafter.
Kohli's long-awaited return to India colours ended in disappointment as he was dismissed by Mitchell Starc for an eight-ball duck. This was the first time he was dismissed for 0 in an international game in Australia. The left-arm fast bowler also became the second bowler, after England great James Anderson, to dismiss Kohli for a duck twice in international cricket. Ahead of Kohli's departure, Rohit was dismissed for just eight runs by Josh Hazlewood.
India lost three wickets inside the powerplay, with Gill managing just 10 runs, as India posted a sub-par 136 for nine in the rain-interrupted game. In response to the revised target of 131, Aussie stand-in skipper Mitchell Marsh carved out an unbeaten 46 as the hosts chased it down in 21.1 overs.
The second game of the series will be played on October 23 in Adelaide.
