A few hours ago, fast bowler Xavier Bartlett had dismissed star batsman Virat Kohli in the second ODI, which got a mixed reaction among the Indian fans. While some praised Bartlett’s brilliant bowling, others made vile comments on social media after the Australian pacer removed the Indian star.
Virat Kohli’s last ODI tour of Australia started on a disappointing note as he got out for two consecutive ducks for the first time in his career. After being dismissed by Mitchell Starc in the series opener in Perth, Xavier Bartlett dismissed Kohli without opening the account at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, 23 October.
Virat Kohli creates record of back-to-back ducks in 2nd ODI against Australia
The dismissal occurred during the seventh over of India’s innings after the visiting team was sent in to bat first. Kohli was out after Shubman Gill was out in the same over.
The right-handed batsman initially negotiated Xavier Bartlett’s probing line carefully outside the off stump. However, the fast bowler surprised him with a sharp inswinger that hit his pads, prompting the umpire to immediately declare him LBW.
The batsman had a brief discussion with Rohit Sharma about reviewing the call, but ultimately decided not to do so as the timer expired. As soon as he was out for a duck in four balls, the Adelaide crowd started applauding him. Kohli acknowledged this by giving a slight shake of his gloves before leaving the field.
Xavier Bartlett faces criticism from fans after dismissing Virat Kohli for a duck
Xavier Bartlett became the center of attention on social media after dismissing Virat Kohli for a duck in the second ODI. Indian fans flooded Bartlett’s social media accounts with negative comments.
Bartlett’s last Instagram post about his IPL stint in August suddenly attracted more than 3,500 new comments on Thursday. Many users flooded the comments section with Kohli-related GIFs and praise for the Indian superstar.
Notably, Bartlett had paid tribute to Kohli after taking his wicket. The fast bowler said that the former Indian captain is one of the best white-ball players of all time.
He said during a drinks break, “Probably one of the best white-ball players of all time. Lucky to get him, I tried to bowl an outswinger, and he fell back. Maybe a bit of pure luck but good to see him back early.”
No one will be able to believe – Zaheer Khan’s consecutive ducks of Virat Kohli
While talking to Cricbuzz, Zaheer Khan opened up on Virat Kohli’s consecutive duck outings in Australia and said that such times can happen to great players too. He stressed that Kohli’s recent failures should not be overanalyzed as he has already achieved a lot in his career.
“Sometimes you go through phases like this. Two games, two zeros, no one will believe that a player of Virat’s caliber has had two consecutive failures. But it stops there. It’s something I won’t look too much into,” Zaheer told Cricbuzz.
“It’s not like he (Roko) is on trial. And that’s the way it should be because both of them have achieved a lot. He won’t be happy with the last two games, but it’s just about putting it to the side and starting things fresh,” he said.
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