IND vs NZ: Virat Kohli repeats unwanted 2013 record after cheap dismissal in 5th ODI against New Zealand; check details

Veteran India batter Virat Kohli endured a new low during the fifth ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Sunday. Kohli was dismissed for just five runs from seven deliveries by Matt Fisher in the eighth over of India’s innings.

Kohli was looking to slash it over backward point, but only got a thick outside towards wicketkeeper Tim Seifert. Kohli, who scored 74 in the first ODI, failed to register a significant score in the remaining of the three completed ODIs. Kohli followed up his knock of 74 in the first ODI with scores of 7, 0 and 5.

According to Cricbuzz, this is only the second time when the Delhi cricketer has registered three single figure scores in a bilateral ODI series. The first, and the only other instance, had come during Pakistan’s tour of India in the 2012-13 season, when he had been dismissed for scores of 0,6 and 7.

The 38-year-old was also dismissed for single-digit scores during the 2011 ODI World Cup as well as a tri-series involving England and Australia in 2014-15, but those were multi-team tournaments/series.

India in a spot of bother in fifth ODI

At the time of writing this report, India were in a spot of bother at 88/4 in the 19th over, with Ishan Kishan (1 not out) and Axar Patel (28 not out) looking to stabilise the innings.

Apart from Kohli, Rohit Sharma (7) too was dismissed for a single-digit score. Ruturaj Gaikwad managed to score just 18 runs, whereas Shreyas Iyer scored just 22 runs.

India’s shaky start to their innings in the fifth ODI meant that their batting struggles continued. In the fourth ODI in Mount Maunganui, the Men in Blue were all out for just 89 in 26.4 overs while looking to chase down a total of 334. Both Kohli and Rohit were dismissed for ducks, whereas Ishan Kishan was India’s top run-getter with 27 runs.

India lead the five-match ODI series after having won the first two ODIs via the Duckworth Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. The third ODI in Hamilton was washed out due to rain without a ball being bowled, and New Zealand won the fourth ODI by a mammoth 244 runs.

The ODI series will be followed by a two-match Test series that will commence from 19 November in Wellington. India skipper Shubman Gill, along with KL Rahul, Anshul Kamboj and some of the support staff members left for Wellington after the third ODI. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, though, stayed back with the ODI side.

Both the Tests will be part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC), wherein India are in fourth place with a points percentage (PCT) of 51.52. The top two teams at the end of the cycle will qualify for the WTC final, scheduled to take place at The Oval in London in June next year.