NEW DELHI: During the opening day of the pink ball Test match against Australia, as Indian bowlers struggled to make an impact, Virat Kohli resorted to his well-known superstitious act to turn the team’s fortunes around.
Aussie batters Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne frustrated the Indian bowlers with an unbeaten 62-run stand for the second wicket. In response, Kohli was seen experimenting with his luck as he walked up to the stumps and swapped the bails at one end.
However, Kohli’s act, which had previously yielded positive results for India, failed to produce the same outcome this time, as the Indian bowlers struggled to break the second-wicket stand between McSweeney and Labuschagne. Kohli had employed the same act last during the first Test against South Africa.
Former English pacer Stuart Broad also did the same trick during the Ashes 2023 series following which the speedster dismissed Marnus Labuschagne in the Oval Test.
Talking about the match, Australia reached 86 for 1 in their first innings by the close of play on day one, trailing India by 94 runs. McSweeney and Labuschagne were unbeaten on 38 and 20, respectively, after 33 overs of play in Australia’s first innings. The hosts had dismissed India for 180 earlier in the day.
Opener Usman Khawaja was the only Australian batter to fall, dismissed for 13 by Jasprit Bumrah.
Earlier, India were bowled out for 180 at dinner after facing 44.2 overs. The visitors lost four wickets in the first session and six in the second after choosing to bat first.