Virat suffered his first-ever successive ducks in ODI cricket after falling to Xavier Bartlett at his favourite overseas ground. His viral reaction to the crowd’s powerful gesture highlights the deep bond between Kohli and the Adelaide Oval faithful.
October 23, 2025: Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli endured a shock failure at his beloved Adelaide Oval today, recording a four-ball duck in the second One-Day International against Australia, marking the first time in his illustrious ODI career that he has been dismissed without scoring in successive matches.
Following an eight-ball duck in the series opener in Perth, the former India captain’s return to his “hunting ground”—where he boasts five international centuries across formats—was cut short by a lethal in-swinger from Australian pacer Xavier Bartlett.
The dismissal came in the 7th over after India were put in to bat. Walking in at the fall of captain Shubman Gill’s wicket (9), Kohli faced a menacing nip-backer from Bartlett. Attempting a flick shot, he missed the line completely, and the ball struck him plumb on the pad directly in front of the middle stump.
The confident appeal from the Australian fielders was met with the raising of the on-field umpire’s finger. After a brief consultation with batting partner Rohit Sharma, a visibly disappointed Kohli opted against reviewing the decision and trudged off, acknowledging the loud, appreciative standing ovation from the Adelaide crowd by raising his right hand.
The twin failures—a rare and uncharacteristic sight for a batter of his calibre—have now pushed Kohli’s total ODI ducks to 18, placing him joint-third in India’s list behind Sachin Tendulkar (20) and Javagal Srinath (19).
Kohli’s latest duck in Adelaide is particularly significant, as the venue previously hosted some of his most memorable performances, including back-to-back ODI centuries in 2015 (107 vs Pakistan) and 2019 (104 vs Australia).
With India trailing the three-match series 0-1 and fighting to stay alive in this contest, the early loss of the batting maestro is expected to intensify ongoing speculation regarding his international future, especially after the much-hyped return to the ODI format.