[Watch] Perth crowd buzzes as Virat Kohli arrives at the crease on Day 1 of BGT 2024-25 1st Test

The atmosphere at the Perth Stadium was electric as former Indian captain Virat Kohli walked out to bat at No. 4 on Day 1 of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test on Friday, November 22. The visitors won the toss and chose to bat first.

The star batter, playing in his 119th Test, is India’s fourth-highest run-scorer in Tests with 9,040 runs at an average of 47.83, including 31 fifties and 29 centuries. The Delhi-born batter has a massive fan following, and the crowd erupted in excitement as he made his way to the crease.

Here’s a video of the moment:

However, the 36-year-old failed to make an impact and was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood for just five off 12 balls. After choosing to bat, the Indian players struggled, with KL Rahul being the only exception.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck off eight balls, while Devdutt Padikkal also went for a duck, facing 23 balls.

At the time of writing, the visitors were 40-3 after 19 overs, with KL Rahul on 26 and Rishabh Pant on 3 at the crease.

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“We want the Virat Kohli, the one who has been scoring a lot of runs” - Cheteshwar Pujara

Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara believes that for India to have a chance at winning the series, Virat Kohli must return to his vintage form and score plenty of runs.

Pujara told Star Sports ahead of the Test series opener:

"He plays a very important role in this series and I think he's the guy who will have to do the job. Because if you look at the experience in this squad, he's the most experienced player. The kind of player he has been throughout the career, we want the Virat Kohli, the one who has been scoring lot of runs, we want that back. Because if India has to win, he has to score a lot of hundreds in Australia. He will play an important role."

Ahead of the first Test, Kohli had featured in 13 Tests in Australia, scoring 1,352 runs, including four fifties and six centuries.

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