Don’t write off champions: Nathan Lyon on Kohli’s recent batting slump
The Australian team must be hoping to take advantage of Virat Kohli’s prolonged batting slump when the two sides clash in the five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy
After England men’s football team captain Harry Kane tweeted a video of him batting against his Tottenham Hotspur teammates, Virat Kohli jokingly asked him if he could join Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as “counter attacking batsman”.
With the video, Kane had written, “Got a match winning T20 knock in me I reckon. Face with tears of joy. Cricket bat and ball. Any places going for @RCBTweets in the @IPL next season @imVkohli??,” Kane, the Tottenham Hotspur striker, wrote while tweeting a video showing him playing some shots and ducking under bouncers.
Kohli on Saturday responded, “Haha good skills mate. Maybe we can get you in as a counter attacking batsman.”
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Meanwhile, the RCB franchise, too, joined the fun. The IPL team jokingly tweeted that they were looking to get someone for the No. 10 jersey in their squad.
“Jersey #10 will do, @Hkane?,” RCB asked him on twitter.
Meanwhile, team India on Friday lost to Australia by 66 runs in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Though there was a rearguard action from Hardik Pandya, who got his highest ODI score (90 off 76 balls) and added 128 runs for the fifth wicket with opener Shikhar Dhawan (74 off 86), Australia’s gargantuan score of 374/6, their highest against India in one-dayers, proved too daunting. India finished at 308 for eight wickets in 50 overs.
Earlier, skipper Aaron Finch and Steve Smith scored centuries to lead Aussie charge, after Australia won the toss.
Finch made 114 from 124 deliveries with the help of nine 4s and two 6s while Smith scored 105 off just 66 balls — with 11x4s and four 6s — as the hosts took heavy toll on hapless Indian bowlers who had no option to fall back on.
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