Kohli’s misery continues as Southee completes perfect 10

Christchurch, Feb 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Virat Kohli once again failed to make any significant contribution on the opening day of the second Test between India and New Zealand as the visitors got bundled out for 242 in their first innings at the Hagley Oval.

Kohli, who has had a poor run in the ongoing New Zealand tour, on Saturday could manage just three runs before getting dismissed by Tim Southee on Day One of the second Test.

To make the matters worse, Kohli consumed India's only review left after Mayank Agarwal had used one in the morning session. As soon as the ball hit the pads, Southee knew he has got the priced scalp of the Indian skipper. Kohli hesitantly went ahead with the decision to take a review after discussion with Cheteshwar Pujara, which only showed it was as plumb as it gets.

This was for the 10th time that Southee had dismissed Kohli in international cricket -- 3 in Tests, 6 in ODIs and 1 in T20Is. This is also the most a bowler has dismissed Kohli across formats as Southee extended his tally.

In the Wellington Test as well, the Indian batting run-machine had managed scores of 2 and 19 -- one of the main reasons why the visitors had to face a crushing defeat by 10 wickets.

Before that, in the seven limited-overs inning which the Indian skipper played against the Black Caps, Kohli could manage just 180 runs (125 in 4 T20Is and 75 in 3 ODIs), including only a single half-century.

In fact, the 31-year-old has not reached the three-figure mark in his last 21 innings. His last century came in the day-night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata last year when he scored 136.

Kohli has also lost the numero uno spot in the ICC Test Rankings and has been replaced by Australia's Steve Smith.

Source: IANS