The performance of Virat Kohli on the first day of the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground left Australian fans furious. After the top batsman and rookie Sam Konstas bumped shoulders, Kohli was loudly jeered. When the 36-year-old landed in Australia in November, the media nearly adored him, but when they dubbed him a clown and questioned his professional ethics, the situation became more heated.
In addition to jeering Kohli, the home crowd joined in on Day 2 of the Test, shouting, “You are a wan*er,” at his face when the cricket player was taken to the boundary to field. Remarkably, Kohli relished that and urged the supporters to up their volume while making a gesture that suggested he was unable to hear them. Kohli didn’t take offence like he did in 2012, when he wasn’t afraid to give the finger, but it inspired the Australian supporters.
Australia and Virat Kohli have long had a love-hate relationship.
Before the series, the media embraced him, but they were unprepared for the way he treated Konstas, which turned Kohli into an instant villain. It remains to be seen if the former India cricket player’s form with the bat is impacted by the gestures that were previously employed to encourage him to perform better on the pitch.
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Kohli vs crowd 👀🧐 #AUSvsIND #AUSvIND #INDvsAUS #INDvAUS #BGT2025pic.twitter.com/wDfL47mCbT
— VK 18 🐐 (@itsvinay0) December 27, 2024
On Day 2, the Indian bowlers, meanwhile, struggled greatly in the middle. Australia was supposed to be pushed to the limit, but the visitors hardly put up a fight. The ball was given to Mohammed Siraj at the beginning of the day, and he was withdrawn after just one over. But even after he came back, the pacer and Akash Deep appeared mediocre, as Steve Smith and Pat Cummins shared 112 runs between them.
Additionally, Smith scored his 34th Test century at the MCG thanks to India’s lacklustre performance. When he hit back-to-back tonnes against India, the visitors were further troubled.
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