The former Australian batter and the coach of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Simon Katich, has taken a brutal dig at the veteran and former batter of India, Virat Kohli, after the latter’s dismissal in the second innings of the fourth Test of the five-match series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Coming into the fixture, there was terrible pressure on Virat Kohli, who already had been going through another lean phase in his career, especially against the balls outside the off-stump. The right-handed batter experienced batter collected 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50 with just one half-century at home in the three Tests against New Zealand.
When the Delhi-born celebrated his 30th century in the red-ball format during the opening Test of the BGT 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth, the fans of Indian cricket expected that their veteran would be back in form. However, the slump continued again in the second day-night pink-ball encounter at the Adelaide Oval, where he wasn’t convinced whether to leave the ball from Mitchell Starc, while in the second innings, he leaned forward to get an outside edge into the hands of the wicket-keeper, Alex Carey.
“The King trudges off”- Simon Katich on Virat Kohli during MCG Test.
Virat Kohli again went for a booming drive in the lone innings during the third Test at the Gabba, Brisbane. The arrival of the batter in Melbourne started with a little bit of controversy when the media took a picture of his family without permission, while later in the morning session of the MCG Test, he was fined 20% of his match fees for the altercation with the 19-year-old debutant, Sam Konstas.
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The 36-year-old looked quite disciplined in the first innings of the fourth Boxing Day Test, where he kept on leaving the balls outside the off-stump and pushed the home batters to bowl in his legs so that he could flick it for a boundary, which he did for a few times. But once Yashasvi Jaiswal was gone via a run-out, he seemed to lose concentration and again got an outside edge against Scott Boland on his score of 36 in 86 deliveries with the help of three boundaries at a strike rate of 57.14.
In the second innings, India had two options for them either to go for a chase of 340 runs or bat on 92 overs to draw the contest. Vira Kohli looked good for the first few balls, but just on the stroke of the lunch, he again went for a drive against the left-arm pacer of Australia, Mitchell Starc, as the eighth stump delivery brought the curtains down.
The former Australian batter, Simon Katich, who was doing the radio commentary for SEN Cricket, addressed Virat Kohli as a ‘Dead King’ and urged the premier pacer of the side, Jasprit Bumrah, to shoulder the responsibility in the final fixture at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
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“The King is dead. He trudges off. King Bumrah has taken the mantle now. Kohli looks dejected with himself. That was a big knock for him. He has come up short. Australia will be very, very happy with the situation they find themselves in.” Katich expressed on the radio.
Virat Kohli ends the year 2024 with the help of 417 runs in 19 innings at an average of 24.53 and a strike rate of more than 60 with the help of one century and as many half-centuries at the best score of 100*, as he will aim to start fresh in 2025.