Virat Kohli‘s struggles continued on Day 5 of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne on Monday. He was dismissed for just 5 runs, edging a Mitchell Starc delivery to Usman Khawaja in the slips.
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Kohli’s dismissal, another instance of chasing a wide delivery, drew reactions from his wife, Anushka Sharma, and KL Rahul‘s wife, Athiya Shetty, who were present at the ground. Their reactions quickly circulated on social media.
KL Rahul was dismissed for a nought, a rare flop for him in the series Down Under. Otherwise he’s produced scores of 26, 77, 37, 7, 84, 4* and 24 to be the fifth highest run-scorer in the series.
India’s chase of 340 began cautiously, with Australian bowlers maintaining pressure. Jasprit Bumrah had earlier completed a five-wicket haul, dismissing Nathan Lyon to end Australia’s second innings at 234.
Despite a solid first hour, India lost two quick wickets in a maiden over from Pat Cummins. Kohli’s dismissal just before lunch further tilted the game in Australia’s favour.
India started their chase with a watchful approach against a disciplined Australian bowling attack. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal were forced to restrain their attacking instincts.
Rohit’s attempt at an aggressive shot led to his dismissal for 9 runs, caught at gully off Cummins. In the same over, KL Rahul edged a delivery to the slips for a duck.
With the scoring rate restricted, Jaiswal and Kohli adopted a defensive approach. However, Kohli’s attempt at a drive resulted in his dismissal off Starc’s bowling.
At lunch, India were in a precarious position, requiring a substantial effort from the remaining batters, including Rishabh Pant, to salvage the match.
Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul, including the dismissal of Nathan Lyon, wrapped up Australia’s second innings quickly. Bumrah finished the innings with figures of 5/80 and match figures of 9/156. His series tally reached an impressive 30 wickets.
