IND vs SL 1st Test: Virat Kohli Equals Kapil Dev's Dubious Record As India Captain
Updated - 11 Jun 2019, 05:09 PM
Team India skipper Virat Kohli has made a habit of shattering batting records. The 29-year old recently became the second leading centurion in the One-Day Internationals, surpassing the legendary Ricky Ponting’s tally of 30 centuries and also became the quickest to 9,000 runs in the 50-over format by bettering his Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate and South Africa star AB de Villiers‘ record.
However, Thursday was an unusual day for the right-handed batsman as he equalled a record which he would have certainly liked to avoid. Kohli experienced a rare failure with the bat as he dismissed by Suranga Lakmal for an 11-ball duck on the opening day of the ongoing first Test at the Eden Gardens. The duck was Kohli’s fifth in 2017, and the latest failure added him to the list of Indian captains with the most number of ducks in a calendar year. The Delhi-born star has now joined the legendary Kapil Dev who had achieved the unwanted feat in 1983 after 31 matches.
Kohli had begun the year with a bang, slamming a sublime century in the first ODI against England. He also began the Tests in style as he scored his fourth double century in the one-off Test against Bangladesh which was his fourth double ton in four consecutive series. However, his form dipped during the series against Australia where he could score only 46 runs in 3 Tests before being ruled out of the final Test due to a shoulder injury.
Kohli’s first duck came in the first Border-Gavaskar Test in Pune before he failed to open the account at The Oval against Sri Lanka during ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The third and fourth came against Australia in Chennai (ODI) in September and T20I in October respectively. Kohli also tops the list with most number of ducks this year, ahead of Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza (3) and Zimbabwe’s Graeme Cremer (3).
Meanwhile, the latest failure extended his poor track record in Tests at the Eden Gardens. He now averages a lowly 13.83 in four Tests at the iconic stadium.
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