"It was painful to watch that 8-ball stay" - Twitter reacts to Virat Kohli's duck on return during AUS vs IND 2025 1st ODI 

Team India ace player Virat Kohli was dismissed for an eight-ball duck on his highly anticipated return to international cricket during the first ODI against Australia. The right-handed batter had to depart after a stellar catch by Cooper Connolly off Mitchell Starc's bowling at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, October 19.

Virat Kohli struggled to get off the mark as the new ball pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ran a tight ship in the first powerplay. The former skipper had come into bat after Rohit Sharma's dismissal in the fourth over, and the hosts kept the pressure on to deny the new batter his first run.

After a couple of mistimed strokes and misses, Kohli eventually perished while trying to play an uppish drive against a ball moving away from him. He did not get into decent shape while executing the stroke, and ended up getting a thick edge, which flew to point towards Connolly.

It marked Virat Kohli's first-ever duck in ODIs in Australia, ending a streak of 29 matches. Following the dismissal, Mitchell Starc also became the second bowler after James Anderson, to remove the ace batter for a duck twice in international cricket.

Fans were in despair after watching their hero falter on his return after a lenghty absence. Here are some of the reactions on social media.

Vipul 🇮🇳

@Vipul_Espeaks

Virat Kohli too looked like a guy who is out of touch, I doubt even he can survive till ODI World Cup 2027 (which is still 2 years away) playing just one format of the game. I'm not sure if he is hungry enough now.

CricEnt

@CricentVerse

That’s why Gambhir want them to play Domestic cricket, Kohliand Rohit both look rusty and if this is gonaa happen consider them retire after the Test series #AUSvIND

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@45Fan_Prathmesh

I don't even feel like trolling Virat Kohli anymore. The decline of the form is clearly visible. 💔

Satish Pandey

@SatishKTM

Kohli struggled while he was there.

Cricket Savant

@CricSavant

Virat Kohli. It was painful to watch that 8-ball stay. Ur game is still the same outside off, against the moving ball. Typical Australian bounce & movement. It was bound to happen when u have not played any cricket in a long long time. Went driving to a ball which wasn't there.

Team India struggling at 25-3 as Shubman Gill departs after Virat Kohli in AUS vs IND 2025 1st ODI

The Men in Blue's horrid display in the first powerplay continued after Shubman Gill also made his way back to the pavilion shortly after Virat Kohli. The opening batter, featuring in his first ODI as captain, was caught down the leg side off Nathan Ellis' very first delivery.

At the time of writing, rain has interrupted proceedings at the venue, with the score reading 25-3 in the ninth over. Newly appointed vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is currently out in the middle along with all-rounder Axar Patel.