After a string of poor performances in the home test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 was predicted to be a valuable opportunity for Virat Kohli to prove his dominance in his favorite opponent’s backyard—Australia.

The ongoing five-match test series is likely to be the last Australian tour in Kohli’s test career and his innings were wrapped on a disappointing note in the fifth test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

The 36-year-old scored just 190 runs in 9 innings, averaging below 25. Excluding his 143-ball-century in Perth, Virat managed to score only 90 runs in 8 innings. As the next edition of the BGT will be held in India in January 2027, Kohli will be 39 years and 2 months old. By the time Australia hosts the next edition of BGT, Team India’s batting stalwart will be fully into his 40s.

Apart from facing most dismissals against Scott Boland, similar patterns of caught-out errors throughout the test series prompted several questions about India’s ace batter’s future in test cricket.

The veteran batter arrived at the crease with much hype surrounding that the Aussies would face the King of Cricket for the one last time on their homeground. Contrarily, Virat Kohli found himself struggling scoring 17 and 6 runs in both innings of the SCG test.

The Lone Spark of the 30th Test Century in Perth Amidst Struggling Performances

The second innings of the Perth test witnessed the comeback of vintage Kohli which the former Australian cricketer David Warner and the entire team feared the most. His unbeaten 100 marked his controlled aggression, perfect timing, and extraordinary composure under pressure which played a crucial role in India’s historic 295-run victory.

However, Virat’s 81st international century wasn’t enough to compensate for his rough patches. His performance dipped in the next matches as he failed to cross the 50-run mark in any of the innings starting from the pink ball test in Adelaide to the recent New Year’s test at the SCG.

Finally, Kohli’s lackluster performance ranked him as the second Indian leading run scorer in tests on Australian soil, scoring 1,542 runs in 18 Tests at an average of 46.72, including 7 centuries and 4 half-centuries.

Virat Kohli vs Scott Boland in BGT 2024-25

Here is a detailed stats of Kohli vs Boland in 5 innings of the BGT 2024-25

Virat Kohli’s Predictable Nature of Dismissal in BGT 2024-25

In addition to Virat Kohli’s poor scores, his routine style of dismissals has become the main subject of conversation. This is the 8th time the right-handed batter got caught behind the wicket as he remained not out only in the series opener of the Perth Test.

Again and again, the Australian bowlers took advantage of his weaknesses to tackle the deliveries outside the off-stump, enticing him to strike the ball away from his reach.

The result was the same irrespective of the opponent bowler whether it was Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, or Scott Boland. Moreover, the nature of dismissal became a clear failure as experts have pointed out the issue where Kohli’s mistimed shot strikes the edge of the bat and passes either to the wicketkeeper or slip fielder.

Here is a list of Virat Kohli’s recurring style of caught-out dismissals in eight innings against these bowlers in BGT 2024-25:

Mohammad Azharuddin About Virat Kohli’s Similar Pattern of Dismissal

Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin pointed out Kohli’s technical errors as he allowed the opponent bowlers to predict his mode of dismissal. Here is what the 62-year-old said:

“Yeah! Virat Kohli has been exposed to getting dismissed in the same pattern. To tackle swing bowling properly, he should stand inside the crease rather than outside. This is the most serious mistake he has been repeating throughout the series played so far,” Azharuddin voiced his opinion after India’s 184-run loss in the Melbourne Test.

Final Opinion:

After a struggling tour in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, fans still hope that the 5-match test series is just a hardship expecting the King to respond back with a stunning comeback. As India starts their next World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle with the England tour, it could be the last opportunity for Kohli to prove his overseas success once again. It remains to be seen if the King of cricket rewrites his fortunes in the English summer by trying to establish his legacy as one of the greatest test batsmen in cricket history