A hilarious chat between Virat Kohli and Shakib Al Hasan during the India vs Bangladesh first Test went gone viral on social media. On Day 2 of the game at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Kohli sledged Shakib during his batting. As the Bangladesh star spinner bowled series of yorkers to Kohli, the Indian batter later decided to criticize him. The stump mic captured Kohli referring to Shakib as ‘Malinga’. Sri Lanka legend Malinga, who was referred to in the comment made by Kohli, possessed the ability of bowling unplayable yorkers with raw pace.
“Malinga bana hua hai, yorker pe yorker de raha hai (Acting like Malinga, bowling yorker after yorker),” Kohli could be heard saying to Shakib in the video.
“Niyamai malli,” wrote Malinga while reacting to it. The comment translates to ‘Great, brother.’
Here’s the reaction –
Niyamai malli https://t.co/heeEK48QRP
— Lasith Malinga (@malinga_ninety9) September 21, 2024
Star India batter Kohli’s form dip continued as he failed to fire in the first Test against Bangladesh held at Chennai. In both innings of the Test, Kohli delivered poor scores of 6 and 17.
While in the first innings, he chased an outside off stump delivery by Hasan Mahmud, in the second innings, he fell victim to a wrong LBW decision. Having chosen to not review it, the UltraEdge discovered the bat making contact with the ball, which would have ruled Virat not out had he opted for a review.
Virat is having a poor run of form across all formats this year. In 15 matches and 17 innings this year, he has scored just 319 runs at a sub-par average of 18.76, with just one half-century to his name and a best score of 76 made during the T20 World Cup final against South Africa.
Now, in Tests, Virat’s average is at an eight year low. In 114 Tests, he has scored 8,871 runs in 193 innings at an average of 48.74, with 29 centuries and 30 fifties. The last time his average was lower than this was during November 2016, when he averaged 48.28.
The period of 2020s has not been kind to Virat in white colours. In 30 Tests played since the start of 2020, he has scored just 1,669 runs at an average of just 32.72, with just two centuries and eight fifties in 52 innings. His best score is 186.
In five Tests and eight innings during the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship cycle, Virat has scored 392 runs at an average of 49.00, with a century and two fifties. His best score is 121. In order to secure their maiden WTC title, India would no doubt need Virat to fire in coming matches against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia, which will determine if they will make the hat-trick of WTC finals, having lost to NZ and Australia so far in the title clash.
(With ANI Inputs)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article