Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke feels that the extra bounce on the Perth pitch worked against Virat Kohli in the series opener on October 19. Making his first appearance for India since early March, the experienced right-hander was dismissed for an unusual eight-ball duck.
Trying to get off the mark, Kohli attempted a drive at a delivery from Mitchell Starc that wasn’t full enough and was caught at backward point. This marked his first-ever duck in an ODI in Australia. Speaking about Kohli’s underwhelming return for Team India on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Clarke stated:
“That muscle memory of just game after game, which he has done for 15 years, but then have six months off and play in very, very foreign conditions is hard. If his first game back was in India, I think he’s straight back into it. But because he’s in Australia, that shot he played, in India he cover drives that for four.”
He further added:
“Here, it bounced and hit him a bit higher on the bat, he’s out in front of himself and gets caught at backward point. So, their top three, for them to get out like that, sort of sums up their play throughout the game. Their bowlers tried to get their lengths right and some mixups in the running, so they were just underdone.”
“The Way He Plays Is Just Different” – Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke feels Virat Kohli’s absence from competitive international cricket was evident during his comeback in the first ODI at Perth. Although he had not represented India since the 2025 Champions Trophy, the 36-year-old featured throughout IPL 2025 and played a key role in leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to victory.
“That’s Virat Kohli’s first duck in an ODI at Australia ever. So not the place to start in what looks like it’s going to be his last tour to Australia. He’ll be disappointed. He hasn’t played for a long time and even though he looks as fit as ever and might have been batting fine in the nets, playing games is just different,” said Clarke (via the aforementioned source).
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