Virat Kohli’s dismissal in the second ODI against New Zealand in Rajkot on Tuesday mirrored the manner in which he was out in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia, with the batsman again losing his stumps while trying to play a shot to a delivery close to his body. Kohli was batting on 23 on a slow surface, quite similar to the conditions during the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. New Zealand medium pacer Kristian Clarke bowled a length delivery outside off that angled back in. Kohli attempted to guide the ball through the point and third man region but got an inside edge that dragged the ball onto the stumps.
In the 2023 World Cup final, Pat Cummins had dismissed Kohli in a similar fashion with a short ball angled into him. With little room to play and the pitch not offering much bounce, Kohli had dragged the ball back onto his stumps on that occasion as well, triggering celebrations from the Australian camp at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Kohli walked back disappointed after being bowled for 23 in the second ODI against New Zealand. He had begun his innings carefully before Clarke removed him in the 24th over. Despite the dismissal, Kohli reached a major milestone earlier in the match by becoming India’s highest run-scorer against New Zealand in ODIs. He went past Sachin Tendulkar’s tally during the second match of the series on Wednesday. Kohli had entered the game level with Tendulkar after scoring 93 in the first ODI. He surpassed the former India batter with a boundary off the first ball he faced, moving to the top of the Indian list against New Zealand in the 50-over format. While Kohli now leads among Indian batters, he remains behind former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in the overall list. Ponting has 1,971 ODI runs against New Zealand. Kohli has 1,773 runs against New Zealand in ODIs, going past Tendulkar’s 1,750. Ponting is the only batsman ahead of him. Earlier, New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell won the toss and chose to bowl first in the second ODI. India had won the opening match in Vadodara by four wickets and lead the three-match series 1-0. The third ODI will be played in Indore on Sunday. Both teams made one change. New Zealand brought in left-arm spin all-rounder Jayden Lennox, while wrist spinner Adithya Ashok was left out. India were forced into a change after Washington Sundar suffered a rib injury in the first ODI and was ruled out of the series. Batter Ayush Badoni was added to the squad, while all-rounder Nitish Reddy came into the playing XI in place of Sundar.
