Former Indian captain Virat Kohli was the batter in form heading into the World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia with back-to-back centuries in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. But Kohli once again departed cheaply on Day 2 of the WTC Final at the Oval in London on Thursday, falling to Mitchell Starc for 14.
India ended the second day on 151 for 5, still 119 runs away from the follow-on mark after Australia posted 469 in the first innings. After his dismissal, Kohli was brutally trolled on social media when pictures of him gorging on food in the Indian dressing room soon after his dismissal went viral on social media.
One fan said, “Khao piyo aish karo mitro, dil par kisi ka dukhayo na!” while another tweeted, “Ehna nu burger khilao... pizza khilayo... fried rice khilayo”.
Check some hilarious reactions to Virat Kohli having food in the dressing room HERE…
Virat Kohli explaining to youngsters that IPL is "asli" ICC trophy pic.twitter.com/Uo7Jt8tOjL
— Rohitava (@rohitavasaha) June 9, 2023
Tendulkar didnt eat for 3 days after he got out early in that 2003 WC final
Meanwhile Kohli after getting out early in #WTCFinal2023 pic.twitter.com/AOJHMsKPor
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) June 8, 2023
Ehna nu burger khilao... pizza khilayo... fried rice khilayo pic.twitter.com/qb9KtjirVZ
— Raja Babu (@GaurangBhardwa1) June 8, 2023
Khao piyo aish karo mitro, dil par kisi ka dukhayo na! pic.twitter.com/9SKkR1CgDT
— Shivani Shukla (@iShivani_Shukla) June 8, 2023
During an interaction with Star Sports Network at the end of second day’s play, former India opener Sunil Gavaskar wasted said that Kohli could have dealt with the seemingly unplayable delivery by playing it off his back foot. He further stated that since the 34-year-old was on his front-foot and not really anticipating the short delivery, he could not drop his wrists in time.
“Today because there are only two bouncers allowed per over, not too many bowlers bowl bouncers and most of the batters are onto the front foot. Which means they are not able to get onto the back foot and give themselves that extra yard where you could have probably dropped your wrists or let the ball go,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
“Yes, it was a tough delivery because he was so committed onto the front foot that he was not able to withdraw his bat at the last moment,” he added.
Indian batters Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara were both dismissed shouldering arms to incoming deliveries from Australian pacer. “Yes, they could have possibly not had their bats high up in the air. One of the essentials of batting in England is to play the ball as late as possible,” Gavaskar said.
“So, it means, if you are looking to play the ball as late as possible, your bat is nearer to the ball, not up in the air. Because it was up in the air, they allowed the ball to go through. With the bat up in the air, they were not able to bring it down when the ball nipped in,” Gavaskar added.
