"This is not the Virat Kohli we know" - Twitterati in disbelief as former RCB captain bags second golden duck in a row
Virat Kohli's rough patch with the bat continued as he bagged another duck against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday.
Asked to bat first, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lost their captain Faf du Plessis in the second over. Marco Jansen defeated the Proteas legend with a swing that hit his bat and uprooted the stumps.
Kohli followed suit on the very next ball, his first consecutive golden duck in the IPL. Jansen pitched the ball around the off-stump and Virat Kohli pushed it through the mid-on region. The ball found a thick outside edge and went straight to Aiden Markram at second slip.
Fans are disappointed with Kohli's current run of form and took to social media to express their views.
Here are some of the reactions:
Virat Kohli - when you're not in form, nothing goes your way.
That was a good delivery to get first up. The left-arm angle once again doing the trick.
For a tall bowler, Jansen is ready to bowl fuller.
This is not the Virat Kohli I know. This is not the Virat Kohli I would ever want to know. 💔
Shucks, another first ball duck for #Kohli. From a lean patch it’s turned into a horror run
🥺It is so disappointing to see Virat Kohli go the whole way with his head down as if he just wanted to hide from everyone.
What happened to the best player who used to hold his head high and give every Indian a reason to do the same !😔🥺
#RCBvSRH #SRHvsRCB
Virat Kohli fans right now:
#RCBvSRH #RCB https://t.co/lLzA1y8x10
This is not the Virat Kohli I know. This is not the Virat Kohli I would ever want to know. 💔 https://t.co/uZji7r17Y5
Prayers for Virat Kohli's form 🙏
Bc kya din dekhne pdre
I hate cricket 😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔
#RohitSharma #ViratKohli https://t.co/IsJ5b0a1UR
Even this guy can get virat kohli out on golden duck now👍 https://t.co/oSEMMvSDvz
@bhogleharsha Virat Kohli's wagon wheel in this IPL season. https://t.co/NGnCfkwm4b
We want you to peak again brother @imVkohli
At this point I’m not even sad or angry.
I am just concerned for #ViratKohli𓃵
यकीन करना मुश्किल है, लेकिन...
Virat Kohli 💔
#IPL2022
The 33-year-old has been short of runs for quite some time now. The 15th edition of the IPL has been no different. His last four scores read 1,12, 0 and 0.
Meanwhile, Bangalore's top-order woes continued as they were reduced to 20/4 in 4.2 overs, with all their specialist batters back in the hut. RCB will once again look to Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik to revive the innings and post a challenging total on the scoreboard.
"Virat Kohli is overcooked" - Former India head coach Ravi Shastri
The 1983 World Cup winner, who has observed Kohli from close quarters, believes it is important for the former RCB skipper to take some time away from the game and come back fresh. Speaking to Star Sports, Ravi Shastri said:
"I am going straight to the main guy here. Virat Kohli is overcooked. If anyone needs a break, it's him. Whether it's two months or a month-and-a-half, whether it's after England or before England."
The 59-year-old cricketer-turned-commentator also feels there is a lot of cricket left in Kohli. He added:
"He needs a break because he has got 6-7 years of cricket left in him and you don't want to lose that with a fried brain. He is not the only one. There might be one or two in world cricket going through the same. You need to address the problem upfront."
Kohli has managed only 119 runs in eight IPL games at a paltry average of 17 and strike rate of just over 120.