With Rohit Sharma sitting out of the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney, the spotlight fell on Virat Kohli, who is under immense pressure to rediscover his batting form.
India opted to bat first at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but the green pitch offered a lot of assistance to Australia's pace attack.
With openers K L Rahul (4) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) perishing early, the pressure was on India's most experienced batter to deliver in the must-win Test match.
He got a lifeline first ball when he edged Scott Boland with Steve Smith taking a good low catch at third slip but the TV umpire ruled that the ball had touched the ground.
Kohli opted to bat with caution in the morning session as he was unbeaten on 12 from 48 balls at the lunch break, without a single boundary.
However, his resistance didn't last long after the break. Boland, who has been Kohli's nemesis this series, dismissed him yet again.
Kohli pushed at a back of length delivery away from his body, only to get the edge and was caught in the slips by debutant Beau Webster.
Kohli's subdued 17 off 69 balls extended his lean patch in the series, where he has fallen to Boland four times, all caught behind off edges.
Aside from his unbeaten century in Perth, Kohli's series scores read: 5, 7, 11, 3, 36, 5, 17. His form has been a concern, with just 417 runs at an average of 24 in 10 Tests last year.
Since January 2021, Kohli has scored 1,906 runs in 36 Tests at an average of 32, with three centuries and eight fifties -- far below his lofty standards.
© 2025 Rediff.com -