"Duck-Man" - Fans on Twitter troll Virat Kohli after yet another batting failure

Virat Kohli's poor run of form has continued in the 4th Test against England. The Indian skipper got out for an 8-ball duck on Friday, with his team reeling at 41-3.

It was Virat Kohli's nemesis from the previous night, Ben Stokes, who sent him packing. Stokes' fourth ball of the 27th over was viciously short of good length. Virat Kohli, looking to play it fine towards the third man, went for an awkward poke and gave away a faint edge to the wicketkeeper.

This was only the second time that Kohli had been dismissed for 2 ducks in the same series. Interestingly, the first instance came against England in the disastrous 2014 tour.

Virat Kohli has now also equaled MS Dhoni's grim record for scoring the most ducks as an Indian captain (8).

The wicket was also a result of Ben Stokes's hard graft. The all-rounder bowled 7 overs on the trot on Friday, unremittingly banging the ball short and making the batsmen uncomfortable throughout.

Twitterati slams Virat Kohli for getting out to Ben Stokes on a duck

Fans on Twitter were equally relentless in their criticism of Virat Kohli. While some netizens speculated if Kohli is already past his batting prime, others even compared him to tailenders.

The following are the best reactions:

What a way to start my Weekend looks like the Emperor is breaking down 😂😂😂😂 don't mess with Ben Stokes Kohli 🤣🤣🤣#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/tW5ND4ZSfw
— #bigSmile (@tapslua) March 5, 2021

send Kohli back on paternity leave, he's clearly out of form and not in the mood for contest with the bat anymore #INDvENG
— El Magnifico (@VishnChipz) March 5, 2021

Virat kohli is quite underrated as a tailender.
He scores crucial 20-30 runs in almost every innings.
But not this time 🤣#INDvENG
— professor samuel oak (@prof_oak123) March 5, 2021

Virat Kohli The Legend. pic.twitter.com/1FTrA9CRKn
— Mr Kaka (@Mr_Kaka0) March 5, 2021

Kohli doesn't want to embarrass Rohit Sharma by staying longer on the pitch #Kohli #RohitSharma #INDvENG
— Gr Vishwaa (@GrVishwaa) March 5, 2021

Virat Kohli batting today:- pic.twitter.com/kipoQKE6As
— Abdullah Neaz Lite (@cric_neaz) March 5, 2021

Thank you virat kohli for drowning our Hopes, #INDvENG
— Vaibhav Padma (@PadmaVaibhav) March 5, 2021

Only for the second time in his Test career, Virat Kohli has been out on 0 twice in one series. 2014 in England, 2021 against England. 🤯#INDvENG
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) March 5, 2021

Like a fool I framed this perfect scenario of Rohit-Kohli batting together for long & either of them scoring big
Dream crushed within 8 balls
Can’t watch Virat get out, it has become a torture
Ben Stokes what a ball to get him out
— Shrutika Gaekwad (@Shrutika_45_) March 5, 2021

Who would have thought that in a batting line up consisting of Pujara, Kohli & Rahane, it would be Rohit who would turn out to be the most reliable batsman.

Cricket, is indeed, a funny game.
— Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) March 5, 2021

I have this palpable fear that Kohli might be on decline! We might have already watched Kohli’s peak..
— Ganesh (@ganeshkhatiwa10) March 5, 2021

Kohli out for a 🦆. Hahahahahahaha! #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/QuzKpsv0zj
— Mick (@lostsoulslose) March 5, 2021

"Kohli's 71st hundred" has started to sound like "Sachin's 100th hundred".
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) March 5, 2021

Kohli departs.

"𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘, 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑖𝑔 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒".#INDvENG
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) March 5, 2021

Gone are those days when people were talking about 150 centuries and 40,000 runs from legendary batsman KOHLI.
But from 2019 he has changed his nature from aggressive to calm & that affected his sublime form.
Hope he come back stronger than this ongoing form.
— Kushal Patel (@kushal6108) March 5, 2021

The way India is batting today, I can see England reach the finals of the WTC. I hope we save the day and the match, somehow. And I hope Kohli finds his form back. It is painful to watch such a fine player struggle this way. #WTC21 #ENGvIND
— Bodhisatta Biswas (@bloggertraveler) March 5, 2021

I hate that I really started watching cricket after Kohli's prime. He's still good but not the fearsome batter he once was.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) March 5, 2021

Bradman was a Bradman,

Sachin was a Godman,

And now we know a guy named Kohli as 'DuckMan' the one who is now the leading duck scorer as captain of India ever.#INDvsENG #ENGvIND #ViratKohli #SachinTendulkar #DonBradman
— Hrishikesh Ranjan (@HrishikeshRanj) March 5, 2021

Waking up to see another Kohli failure?
— Keir (@Kingkeir) March 5, 2021

Rohit Sharma stands tall after Virat Kohli's duck

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is standing strong against the blistering spells by the England bowlers. Both James Anderson and Stokes have troubled him with heavy balls on the body. But the opener has shown conviction in his defense while attacking the spinners on the other end.

Earlier in the day, Cheteshwar Pujara was trapped plumb LBW by Jack Leach for 17 runs. The onus now lies on Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane to take the hosts towards a competitive first-innings total.