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Former India skipper and modern-day icon Virat Kohli received a grand welcome as he came in to bat during second Test against New Zealand. Notably, India are up against New Zealand in the second of the three-game series at the MCA Stadium in Pune. In the second innings of the second Test, Kohli walked in on the field after Shubman Gill was compelled to walk back after his 31-ball stay on the pitch, where he added 23 runs with a combination of four boundaries.
As Kohli walked in during the 16th over of the second Indian innings, the crowd present at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium erupted in cheers and welcomed the cricketer with roaring chants. Notably, Kohli hasn’t been able to deliver his class-like performance, but despite the slump, Indian fans didn’t hold themselves back and gave Kohli a welcome he has always received. The video of Kohli’s welcome on the pitch has been going viral on social media ever since.
Virat Kohli fails to deliver magic, falls cheaply for 17
The talismanic batter who has had several forgettable innings, except his 70 in the first Test, continued poor form in the second Test. Kohli’s stay on the crease came to an end after 40 balls, where the batter could only score 17 runs with a combination of two boundaries. Kohli was dismissed by New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner. In the first innings as well, the Indian batter fell prey to Santner’s full toss. This was the sixth time, Kohli has been dismissed by Santner in all formats of the game.
Speaking of the bowler, after a brilliant spell in the first innings, Santner continued to haunt Indian batters in the second innings as well. In the beginning, he dismissed Rohit Sharma and later picked Shubman Gill’s wicket. Yashasvi Jaiswal who was proceeding towards another century, was also one of Santner’s dismissals, before the latter took down Sarfaraz Khan.
