First time in IPL: Virat Kohli bags second successive golden duck

It has been a strange season of IPL so far. Mumbai Indians (MI) has lost seven games in a row, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) too is struggling, Rohit Sharma is not scoring runs, and to add to this, on Saturday evening (April 23), Virat Kohli’s woeful run of batting form continued.

For the first time in the history of IPL, Kohli has been dismissed for two golden ducks in a row. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman, who gave up IPL captaincy last season, has been going through a rough patch.

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After he collected a first-ball blob against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 19 at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, his team and fans were expecting a turnaround on Saturday. But it did not happen.

RCB players and the franchise’s loyal fans were stunned as Kohli was again dismissed for a first-ball duck, this time against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. He caught in the slips by Aiden Markram off paceman Marco Jansen in the second over of the match after the team was invited to bat first.

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The 33-year-old Kohli, one of the best batsmen in the modern era, has been sent back to the pavilion for two golden ducks in a row for the first time in his 15-year IPL career.

From the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 to 2021, Kohli had only three golden ducks in 14 years but now two have come in two matches. Overall, he has eight ducks in IPL career.

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In the ongoing IPL, he has just 119 runs in eight innings with two 40-plus scores.

Looking at Kohli’s struggles in the middle, former India coach Ravi Shastri had said that he is mentally “overcooked” and needs to take a break from the game.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen suggested that Kohli should not play cricket for six months.