Australia Pacer Xavier Bartlett Faces Backlash for Dismissing Virat Kohli

Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett became the unlikely hero for his team’s series-clinching win, but his celebratory moment was quickly marred by vile abuse on social media from a section of Indian fans.

October 24, 2025: The 26-year-old Xavier Bartlett was mercilessly trolled online for dismissing superstar Virat Kohli for a four-ball duck in the second ODI.

The Wicket and The Aftermath

Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett played a crucial role in his team’s series-clinching victory over India at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, finishing with impressive figures of 3/39. The most significant of his wickets was arguably the most prized scalp of his young ODI career: Virat Kohli for a four-ball duck.

Bartlett outsmarted the veteran batter with clever variation. After setting Kohli up with a series of outswingers, the pacer brought one back in sharply to trap him leg-before-wicket. Seeing Kohli dismissed LBW is a rare sight, making the wicket particularly special for Bartlett and pivotal for Australia, who had India reeling at 17/2 in 6.5 overs after the pacer had also dismissed Shubman Gill.

However, the achievement quickly turned sour. Following the match, certain fans on social media crossed the line and started to relentlessly mock and abuse the Australian pacer. His social media accounts were reportedly flooded with uncalled-for and personal insults, a harsh reminder of the toxic side of online fandom.

India’s Struggle, Australia’s Win

Despite the controversy, the second ODI was a hard-fought contest.

India’s innings was stabilised after the early collapse by a gritty Rohit Sharma, who anchored the middle-order with 73 off 97 balls, and Shreyas Iyer, who contributed a steady 61 off 77. The pair shared a crucial 118-run partnership to pull India out of trouble. Although Adam Zampa (4/60) threatened to derail the innings again, lower-order runs from Axar Patel, Nitish Rana, and Arshdeep Singh ensured India finished with a competitive total of 264/9.

In the chase of 265, Australia’s young batters shone, guiding the hosts to a thrilling two-wicket victory that sealed the series 2-0. While Josh Hazlewood bowled a relentless, wicketless spell (0/29 in 10 overs), it was the combined efforts of Zampa and Bartlett that set up the win. The post-match online abuse directed at Bartlett has since overshadowed his match-winning contribution, drawing wider condemnation from the cricketing community.