IND vs IRE: Virat Kohli fails as opener, New York crowd goes silent

New York,UPDATED: Jun 5, 2024 22:28 IST

Senior India batter Virat Kohli failed in his first match of the T20 World Cup 2024. Opening the batting against Rohit Sharma, Kohli tried to be ultra-aggressive in the powerplay but managed to hand a catch to deep third man in th third over of the match. Kohli stepped down the pitch and tried to smash pacer Mark Adair through covers, but managed to slice that ball hard.

Kohli was the first one to fall in the Indian innings, when the team was 22/0 in 2.3 overs. Kohli faced 5 balls and was able to score just one run. The batter came into the tournament after a sensational Indian Premier League 2024 season where he earned the Orange Cap award. Kohli scored 741 runs and was impressive with his batting outside the powerplay. The batter rediscovered his hitting ability against spin outside the powerplay and helped RCB make a tremendous comeback in the second half of the IPL.

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Kohli was selected to open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma on the day. The batter replaced youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had opened for India in the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2024. Kohli had not played the warm-up match against Bangladesh in the tricky Nassau County International Stadium pitch. With the bounce and pace being inconsistent, Kohli struggled to read the fast bowlers.

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The New York crowd was stunned by Kohli's early dismissal in the innings. However, after Kohli's departure, captain Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant drove the Indian innings without any more mishaps.

Earlier in the first innings, India pacers had enjoyed dominance as well. Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and of course, Hardik were among the wickets as India bowled out Ireland in just 16 overs at the Nassau County Stadium. Hardik was the pick among the bowlers alongside Bumrah and picked up 3 wickets. Ireland was bowled out for just 96 runs in the first innings of the match.