Kohli`s return to international cricket ends in disappointment

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Team India stalwart Virat Kohli`s return to international cricket ended in a disappointing manner as he returned to the pavilion without scoring any runs during the first ODI match against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

He was dismissed in Mitchell Starc`s over for an eight-ball duck. Australia`s spin all-rounder Cooper Connolly dived to his left to take the Indian`s catch at point. With this, the 36-year-old had a poor outing with the willow on his international return.

With this, Starc also became the second bowler to dismiss Kohli on a duck on two occasions across all formats of the game. Before him, legendary England`s former pacer, James Anderson, had done the same against Kohli.

It was the Delhi-born cricketer`s first appearance in international cricket since the Champions Trophy 2025 triumph on March 9 in Dubai.

So far, in 302 ODI matches, the right-hander has garnered 14,181 runs. His top score in the format is 183 runs. Kohli also has 51 tons in the ODIs, which is the highest number of centuries scored by any player in the format`s history. He also has 74 half-centuries to his name.

Before Kohli, Rohit Sharma`s eagerly awaited return to international cricket was short-lived, as he was dismissed for eight runs by Josh Hazlewood.

Rohit, making his 500th international appearance for India, was removed by Hazlewood after edging the ball towards second slip, which was grabbed by the debutant Matthew Renshaw.

Before him, only legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rahul Dravid have managed to touch the feat.

Earlier in the match, Australia had won the toss and opted to bowl first against India in the first ODI in Perth on Sunday at the Optus Stadium.

IND vs AUS 1st ODI: Confirmed Playing XI

India`s confirmed playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.

Australia`s confirmed playing XI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (C), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(w), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.

(With ANI Inputs)

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