Kohli's season of gloom drags on

Average of 13.16 after the Perth hundred further weakens star player's position as batting spearhead

- Ashish Magotra

SYDNEY: Virat Kohli could have been gone first ball. He nicked Scott Boland to the slips, where Steve Smith got a hand to the low ball at second slip and flicked it up to Marnus Labuschagne to complete what looked like a rather incredible catch.

They were well in the middle of wild celebrations when umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat consulted fellow on-field official Michael Gough, and they decided to send it up to the third umpire.

The footage reviewed by Joel Wilson was far from conclusive and he finally ruled that the India great was not out. Australia couldn't believe it but they had no choice but to agree with the ruling.

"He's got his fingers (under the ball), but like it's rolled onto the ground. I have that ball just touching the ground," said Wilson.

Kohli accepted the second life gleefully and seemed to slowly slot into gear. In the initial part of his game, he left the ball outside the off stump alone. It has been a particular bugbear of his and Kohli has spoken about the need to be more disciplined.

And as always, he started off looking good. According to CricViz, he left almost 50% of the deliveries outside the off stump early on in his innings. Kohli scored 7 off 30 balls on that line but he was clearly being very careful.

But it was a slow crawl. Then, suddenly, after lunch, he became a little more adventurous. In the last 13 balls on that line, there was only one leave, and then, the dismissal. It marked the seventh time Kohli has been dismissed outside the off stump just in this tour Down Under alone.