3 times Virat Kohli let India down with his fielding

Former Team India captain Virat Kohli has had a torrid time in the ongoing Test series against Australia. Although he has been in fantastic form in white-ball cricket over the last few months, especially in T20Is, he has failed to replicate the same in the red-ball format.

In the first three matches of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 against Australia at home, Kohli registered disappointing scores of 12, 44, 20, 22, and 13. He has hardly looked in any sort of form out in the middle. The 34-year-old batter’s wait for three figures in Test matches thus continues. He hasn’t scored a hundred in red-ball cricket since November 2019, when he scored one against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Not just with the willow, Kohli has been disappointed with his catching as well on the field. In the first innings of the first Test in Nagpur, he dropped Steve Smith off Axar Patel's bowling at slip. Later in the innings, he failed to react quickly as Peter Handscomb edged one off Ravindra Jadeja. The ball deflected off the keeper’s gloves, but Kohli wasn’t alert enough to take the rebound.

The star cricketer’s struggles in the field are becoming a bit too frequent lately, which is not a good sign for India. In the wake of his catching woes in the ongoing series, we revisited three previous instances when Kohli let India down with his fielding.

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#1 India vs Bangladesh 2022 Dhaka Test

Virat Kohli has struggled in the slips lately. Pic: Getty Images

Kohli had a torrid time in the slip region during the second innings of the second Test against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The 34-year-old put down three chances, twice giving a reprieve to the dangerous Litton Das.

In the 44th over of Bangladesh’s second innings, Axar got Das to push at a delivery that was spinning away with an open face. The batter ended up edging the delivery towards the slip region. Kohli, however, was wrong-footed. He moved to his right, while the edge flew past his left, as India missed a big chance to send back Das.

A few overs later, left-arm spinner Axar managed to induce another edge, this time off a defensive stroke from Nurul Hasan. The ball turned away from the Bangladesh batter and the edge deflected off the keeper's glove. Kohli, who was standing at first slip, again started moving to his right as the ball went in the other direction.

Kohli got another chance to make amends but failed again. On the first ball of the 59th over, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin induced an outside edge off Das, bowling a quicker delivery. Kohli’s movement was correct on this occasion. He had to move to his right and did so. The fielder attempted a one-handed catch but failed to latch on. To add insult to injury, the single also brought up Das’ half-century.

Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 231 in their second innings, setting India a mere target of 145. India scampered home by three wickets after crumbling to 74/7. Kohli had an eminently forgettable outing overall as he was dismissed for 24 and one.

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#2 India vs South Africa - T20 World Cup 2022 match (Perth)

The former captain dropped Aiden Markram in Perth. Pic: Getty Images

Kohli put down a very simple catch of Aiden Markram in India’s T20 World Cup 2022 match against South Africa in Perth. After being held to 133/9 after winning the toss and batting first, Team India’s pacers kept the team in the hunt, reducing the Proteas to 24/3 inside the powerplay.

Markram and David Miller led the fightback for South Africa, but India were still in the game. In the 12th over of the innings, the Men in Blue had a great chance to break the partnership and put the batting side under greater pressure. Markram pulled a short delivery from Ashwin to deep midwicket, where Kohli put down the simplest of chances.

The drop proved extremely costly for India and swung the momentum South Africa’s way. Markram (52) and Miller (59*) added 76 runs for the fourth wicket to put the chasing side on the path to victory. The Proteas got home in 19.4 overs with five wickets in hand.

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#3 India vs New Zealand 2014 Wellington Test

Virat Kohli’s drop of Brendon McCullum in the 2014 Wellington Test proved extremely costly. Pic: Getty Images

The 2014 Wellington Test between India and New Zealand is remembered for then-Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum’s breathtaking 302. However, the script could have been very different had Kohli held on to a catch offered by the triple centurion when he was on nine.

In the 29th over of New Zealand’s second innings, McCullum drove a fullish delivery from Mohammed Shami but failed to get to the pitch of the ball. As a result, it went towards silly mid-on, where Kohli was stationed. The fielder, however, snatched at the ball with his left hand and dropped the catch.

New Zealand were 78/3 in the second innings and in big trouble after India posted 438 in response to the Kiwis’ first-innings score of 192. McCullum, however, went on to score 302 off 559 balls. New Zealand declared on 680/8d and drew the Test.

There was some consolation for Kohli as he scored a second-innings hundred.

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