Virat Kohli refuses to take it lying down ahead of Adelaide ODI

Dubai: After a lacklustre return to international cricket in the first ODI at Perth — where he out for a naught — Virat Kohli hit the nets with intent ahead of the second ODI at Adelaide Oval.

A video shared by SACA News, the official X handle of the South Australian Cricket Association, captured Kohli working hard in the nets. The footage showed him confidently executing his signature back-foot punches and cuts, before signing off with a powerful pull shot — a reminder of the class that still lies within.

Kohli’s eight-ball duck in Perth was a dampener, especially during a festive Diwali week ODI series. But with Adelaide up next — a venue where he has delivered some of his most iconic performances — he’ll be determined to bounce back, banish the off-stump woes, and put on a show.

And if there’s a ground where Kohli could script yet another comeback, it’s Adelaide.

At the Adelaide Oval, Kohli stands as India’s most prolific run-scorer, having amassed 975 runs in 17 innings across 12 matches at a stunning average of 65.00. His record includes five centuries and four fifties, with a best of 141 — making him not just India’s finest at the venue, but the highest-scoring visiting batter in its history. For Kohli, Adelaide has always felt like a “home away from home.”

So far in 2025, Kohli has tallied 275 runs in eight ODIs at an average of 39.28, including a century and two fifties. He’ll look to significantly improve on those numbers, beginning with this upcoming fixture.

Adelaide has often been the stage where Kohli has responded to critics with his bat. During India’s 2011-12 Test tour of Australia, when his place in the Test side was under scrutiny, a young Kohli stood tall with his maiden Test hundred at this very venue — a classy knock against a potent Aussie attack featuring Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, and Ben Hilfenhaus. While legends like Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid, and Laxman faltered in that series, Kohli emerged as the only Indian batter to score over 300 runs — marking the end of an era, and the beginning of his own.

Then came December 2014. In the first Test of the series, Kohli, standing in for an injured MS Dhoni, made his captaincy debut. What followed were twin centuries — 115 and 141 — in a match remembered for Kohli’s fearless counterattack against the Aussie quicks. A particularly hostile bouncer from Mitchell Johnson seemed to awaken something in him. He answered not with words, but with runs, launching into the likes of Johnson, Siddle, Harris, and Lyon with supreme intent. His 141 in the fourth innings — while chasing 364 — didn’t result in a win, but it signalled the rise of a new kind of Indian leader, one who refused to settle for draws.

In January 2019, Kohli once again delivered — a fluent 104 off 112 balls — steering India to a comeback win after being 0-1 down in a three-match ODI series. That knock helped India clinch their first-ever bilateral ODI series victory on Australian soil.

Kohli’s most recent outing at Adelaide, however, wasn’t one to remember. He fell early, again to the outside off-stump ploy, undone by Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. Despite a century earlier in the Test series, this match marked the beginning of his gradual exit from Test cricket — the trap proving too persistent, too consuming.

But Kohli doesn’t shy away from adversity. He draws strength from it.

When doubts about his place and form began circulating ahead of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, Kohli responded with a once-in-a-generation knock. Chasing 160 against Pakistan at a packed MCG on October 23rd, India were 31/4. Kohli, in tandem with Hardik Pandya, engineered a miraculous recovery — scoring an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls. The defining moment? Two back-to-back sixes off Haris Rauf, the first of which — a straight punch over the bowler’s head — was later dubbed the “Shot of the Century” by the ICC.

As Kohli returns to Adelaide almost exactly two years after that iconic Diwali knock in Melbourne, fans will be hoping for another masterclass. A performance that could once again silence doubters and reignite hopes of him leading India to glory at the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup — in Australia, no less.

With inputs from ANI