Virat Kohli's grim truth amid Test series against Australia

Virat Kohli will be eager to arrest a worrying form slump with the bat at Test level when day two of the opening Test against Australia in Nagpur resumes. Day one well and truly belonged to the hosts, with Ravi Jadeja (5-42) and Ravi Ashwin (3-42) doing the damage with the ball to leave the Aussies all out for 177.

India captain Rohit Sharma (56 no) then consolidated the home side's advantage, sharing in a superb opening stand with KL Rahul (20), before Aussie debutant Todd Murphy (1-13) justified the selectors' faith in the young off-spinner with a vital breakthrough for the visitors late in the final session. The hosts eventually got to stumps at 1-76.

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Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (0 no) was sent out as a nightwatchman, with the ever-reliable Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli the next two Indian batters in line. While the hosts are in a strong position to build a commanding first innings lead, the pressure will no doubt be on Kohli when he comes out to bat.

The former India captain was not that long ago regarded as the best batter in Test cricket, but the 34-year-old's influence in the longest format of the game has been on a steady decline. Indeed, since the start of 2020, Kohli's average in Test cricket has plummeted below 27 - which is a far cry from his all-conquering best.

Before the former skipper took six weeks off in the middle of 2022, he had not scored an international century in the best part of three years. Kohli did return with a flurry in 2022, belting an unbeaten century in a T20 match against Afghanistan, followed by three more tons in one-day internationals.

However, the veteran's Test batting form has taken a worrying dip since 2019 when his average sat an impressive 55.10. Fast forward to 2023 and Kohli's average has slipped down to 48.90 - undoubtedly still an impressive record but a stark reminder of his struggles in recent years.

Kohli has fallen to 15th in the ICC Test batting rankings, and will be desperate to make amends against Australia in this four-match series after averaging just 9.20 the last time the tourists visited in 2017. Former Australian captain Mark Taylor told Wide World of Sports that despite his struggles, Kohli will still be one of the most prized scalps for Pat Cummins' Aussie side.

"There's no doubt Virat Kohli is always vitally important for India's chances, and on the flip-side, for Australia's chances," Taylor said. "I always suspect that Virat is inspired by the standard of cricket that he's playing, and there's no doubt he will see this series as a huge series for India.

Kohli also dropped two chances while fielding in slips, giving reprieves to Aussie batters Steve Smith and then Peter Handscomb. The Indian legend was promptly called out by Mark Waugh about his fielding, during the Aussie great's commentary for Star Sports.

“It’s like he doesn’t think the ball will come to him, looks away from the game,” Waugh said. “You have got to read the play. You have got to pretend you are actually batting when you are fielding at first slip to the spinners.

"Your legs have to be lot closer to be able to move quickly. Kohli was very high-up in his position. Should have stayed down a bit. He should have done a little bit better. Almost as if he wasn’t expecting it.

“He’s a pretty good fielder but there are a few technical things that he can work on. Those chances that dropped they both came quickly. Maybe change a couple of things, the way he stands and then he won’t drop any more catches.”

Aussies dominated by India on day one

Australia's hopes of winning their first series in India for 19 years got off to a disastrous start on day one, with Cummins' men skittles for 177 after winning the toss and batting first. Australia's vulnerabilities facing the turning ball were badly exposed as they lost eight wickets to spin, with star allrounder Jadeja doing the bulk of the damage.

As difficult as the pitch may be to bat on - although India's batters would perhaps disagree - it was still Australia's lowest first-innings total since 2016 as they chase their first series win in India since 2004.

Left-arm spinner Jadeja, playing his first Test since July, claimed the key wickets of Marnus Labuschagne (49) and Steve Smith (37) as Australia's hopes of posting a respectable total in the first Test all but died with their dismissals. Australia were 2-76 at lunch but lost six wickets during the middle session after Labuschagne and Smith attempted to revive the innings when they came together at 2-2.

Peter Handscomb, who was recalled for his first Test since January 2019, made a valiant 31 but was the ninth man out after also falling to India's lethal spinner. "Jadeja was obviously bowling very well, not really giving our batsmen a lot to hit," Handscomb said.

"I just wanted to be there for as long as possible, but it definitely wasn't easy out there. The Indian team bowled very well as a unit and really didn't give us much to score off."

Pre-match talk centred around the unusual methods used by ground staff to curate the pitch in a bid to capitalise on India's trio of spinners - Jadeja, Ashwin and Axar Patel. Openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja fell to quicks, but the other eight wickets were claimed by Jadeja and Ashwin (3-42).

with AAP

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