Team India suffered a shocking eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru on Sunday. It was a dominating show from the Kiwis, who blew away Rohit Sharma and co in all the departments. In the chase of 107 on Day 5, the visitors faced an early setback as they lost the wicket of their skipper Tom Latham for duck. However, the partnership between Will Young (48*) and Rachin Ravindra (39*) propelled New Zealand to a comfortable win. With this win, New Zealand also gained 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Ahead of the second Test, which will kick-start from Thursday, India’s star batter Virat Kohli flew to Pune in a somewhat different look. At the Bengaluru airport on Sunday, Kohli was seen wearing a face mask, probably to avoid catching anybody’s attention.
However, a video went viral on social media, showing the right-handed batter at the airport, peacefully standing in queue and waiting for his turn.
Virat Kohli left for Mumbai from Bengaluru after the matc pic.twitter.com/qEjzWtJEnC
— 𝙒𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙣 (@wrognxvirat) October 20, 2024
Later on Sunday, Kohli, along with his wife and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, attended a kirtan by American vocalist Krishna Das at Nesco, Mumbai. Some pics and video of the couple were shared by the event organisers.
In the video, Anushka was seen clapping and having a good time while listening to mantras and chants of Lord Krishna.
Talking about his performance, Kohli scored a nine-ball-duck in the first innings against New Zealand. However, he bounced back in the second one and hammered 70 runs off 102 balls.
For the second Test in Pune, Team India has added all-rounder Washington Sundar in the 16-member squad.
However, the question still remains over the participation of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who picked up an injury during the first Test and did not keep the wickets. He did came out to bat on Day 4 and scored 99 runs.
According to a report by the Indian Express, the selectors have left the decision to the team management to take a call on Pant ahead of the match.
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