5 times Virat Kohli's bowling made headlines ft. 2023 World Cup
Virat Kohli was forced to roll his arm for a little while during the 2023 ODI World Cup league-stage clash against Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Thursday.
Kohli's bowling often draws attraction due to his unorthodox action, which he himself has criticized. The batters also do not find the deliveries comfortable to face due to Kohli's natural ability to swing the ball at a gentle pace.
While the former skipper's presence as a bowler is of a sporadic nature in recent years, he used to roll his arm over at times in white-ball cricket in the earlier stages of his career.
On that note, let us take a look at five times Virat Kohli's bowling made headlines.
#1 India vs Bangladesh (2023 ODI World Cup; MCA Stadium, Pune)
Kohli had to come into the attack following an unfortunate injury to Hardik Pandya in the ninth over of the innings. The all-rounder landed on his ankle while trying to stop the ball past him during his followthrough.
The medical team attended to Pandya immediately, and while he appeared to bowl again, he could not put too much weight on his injured foot and proceeded to leave the field.
Kohli bowled in ODI cricket after an interval of six years and completed the over by bowling the remaining three deliveries. He conceded two runs with his trademark right-arm medium pace in the 'short' spell.
#2 India vs England (5th ODI; Sophia Gardens, Cardiff)
In what was Rahul Dravid's final ODI, Virat Kohli had played his part with the bat by scoring a sublime hundred. Team India posted 304-6 batting first, and England had to chase down a revised target of 241 runs off 34 overs.
The hosts got off to a good start and were marching on courtesy of a second-wicket partnership between Sir Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott. Kohli, bowling the 18th over of the innings, broke the blossoming stand between the two players.
Cook, who stepped off the crease to take on Kohli, completely missed the delivery as it crashed onto the stumps. Kohli finished with figures of 1-44 off six overs as India lost the match by six wickets.
#3 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Deccan Chargers (IPL 2008, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad)
Virat Kohli had a forgettable maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) season, but one of the few high points came unexpectedly with the ball. He registered figures of 2-25 off 3.4 overs to restrict the Deccan Chargers to 165 in the first innings.
The right-arm medium pacer claimed the wickets of Chamara Silva and Ravi Teja during his spell.
While he only scored nine runs off five deliveries during the run chase, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wrapped up the run chase with an over to spare.
#4 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Chennai Super Kings (IPL 2012, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai)
The three-time IPL finalists were on the cusp of recording a famous win over CSK on hostile territory. Kohli scored a fifty to help RCB post 205-8 in the first innings.
CSK were seemingly out of the run chase as they needed to score 41 runs off the last two overs for a win. Kohli, who had bowled a reasonably alright first over of his spell, was entrusted to bowl the penultimate over.
Albie Morkel, ruthlessly took down the medium pace bowling to score 29 runs and bring CSK right back into the clash. The Men in Yellow ended up winning the contest off the last ball.
Kohli has only bowled 2.5 overs in the IPL since then, with the last of it coming in the 2016 edition.
#5 India vs England (1st T20I; Old Trafford, Manchester)
Bowling for the first time in T20Is, Kohli claimed the wicket of Kevin Pietersen through quite a smart dismissal. He bowled a wide delivery and MS Dhoni, catching the batter drag his foot outside the crease, completed a quick stumping.
Kohli, who had scored only four runs off five deliveries in the first innings, finished with figures of 1-22 as India lost the contest in the final over of the match.
Is Virat Kohli a credible sixth bowling option in the absence of Hardik Pandya? Let us know what you think.