India vs Afghanistan: Virat Kohli dismissed for maiden golden duck in T20I cricket

Virat Kohli, who has multiple stupendous records in his glittering career, picked up a forgettable milestone on Wednesday. In the third T20I between India and Afghanistan in Bengaluru, Kohli departed for a nought – his maiden golden duck in the T20I format.

After Yashasvi Jaiswal departed for just four runs, Kohli came on to bat and looked to unshackle immediately. With the ball seemingly slowing down on him, Kohli looked to pull but ended up slicing the ball to mid-off. It allowed Mohammad Nabi to collect the catch with ease and for Fareed Ahmed to celebrate the dismissal of one of India’s all-time greats.

Kohli had been dismissed for a duck four times in T20I cricket but never on the first ball. His ducks in T20I cricket had come against England, Sri Lanka, Ireland and Australia. Interestingly, all five dismissals for zero runs have come with India batting first.

In all, the 35-year-old has been dismissed for a golden duck eight times (five in Tests, three in ODIs) through his stellar career. The golden ducks in Tests have come against Australia (2011), England (in 2014, 2018, 2021) and West Indies (in 2019). In ODIs, they’ve come against West Indies (2011, 2019) and England (2013).

Collectively, Kohli has been dismissed for a duck 35 times in his career – 14 in Tests, 16 in ODIs and now five in T20I cricket.

Kohli is making his return to the shortest format after being out since November 2022 at the T20 World Cup. In the first outing back, in Indore, Kohli scored 29 runs from 16 balls.

On Wednesday, India, with the series already in the bag, opted to bat with Sanju Samson, Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Yadav coming into the playing XI. Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh have made way as a result.