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IND vs SL: Virat Kohli hits new career low for first time in 5 years after forgettable Bengaluru pink-ball Test
After a run of five years and 49 Tests, Kohli has hit a new low in his career following a forgettable pink-ball Test in Bengaluru.
In the December of 2016, following an astounding 235 against England at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, former India captain Virat Kohli had touched the elusive mark in Test cricket - the average of 50. The achievement came in his 52nd Test for India, and after a slight flicker, it remained constant since November 2017, during the home Test series against Sri Lanka. But after a run of five years and 49 Tests, Kohli has hit a new low in his career following a forgettable pink-ball Test in Bengaluru.
The last time Kohli scored his international ton was in a pink-ball Test, the format in which he remains India's top-scorer, in 2019. And Bengaluru is is adopted home ground. The stars were aligning for Kohli to break away from the shackles of his lean patch or century drought which has now troubled him over 72 innings in international cricket. But the story remained the same.
India vs Sri Lanka Live Score, 2nd Test, Day 2
Falling both time to spinners, Kohli recorded 23 and 13 in the Test match in Bengaluru and the numbers saw his career batting average slip below 50 for the first time since 2017. He needed 43 runs to stay within the mark, but fell short by seven runs and hence his present career average stands as 49.95.
Kohli hence ended his series with 81 runs in three innings at an average of just 27. It is his third-lowest tally in a home series where he has played in at least two matches, after 46-run tally in five innings in 2016/17 Border-Gavaskar series and tally of 60 runs in two innings against West Indies in 2013/14 series.
The tally of 81 runs is also his lowest ever total in a Test series against Sri Lanka.
Earlier on Saturday, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had offered Kohli a key piece of advice on how to come out of this lean patch.
“The conversation you are having with yourself is to try and eliminate those kind of shots that get you out. You are trying to have a conversation where you say that play as much as possible with the full face of the bat. And try and do that which will give him that much of a chance to get out of what you might call a lean patch,” he Star Sports at the end of Day 1.
