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In an ODI match against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both fell victim to the bowling of Shaheen Shah Afridi, marking the first time they were bowled out together in this format. However, their dismissals were quite different. Rohit faced an almost unplayable delivery from Shaheen, especially considering the previous two balls, which had a different trajectory and narrowly missed his bat. In contrast, Kohli's dismissal was due to tentative footwork and an ill-advised shot choice.
Some cricket legends, such as Waqar Younis and Matthew Hayden, described Shaheen's delivery to Rohit as exceptional and believed that Kohli was somewhat unlucky to get an inside edge onto his stumps. However, former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir had a different view. He criticized Kohli for his indecisiveness against Shaheen Afridi, stating that his shot lacked commitment, neither moving forward nor backward.
The incident occurred in the third delivery of the seventh over of India's innings. Shaheen had just dismissed India's captain, Rohit, with a brilliant delivery after a brief rain delay. Shaheen, a left-arm pacer, bowled a challenging ball that moved away from Kohli. The former Indian captain attempted to guide it to the third man but ended up getting a thick inside edge that crashed into his stumps.
Normally, Kohli would execute this shot successfully in most cases, but this time it didn't work. Several factors contributed to his dismissal. Firstly, attempting this shot early in the innings was risky, especially on a pitch that had already displayed uneven bounce since the second over. Secondly, he didn't cover the line of the ball adequately with his stride. Despite starting his innings with an impressive cover drive off Naseem Shah, Kohli was dismissed after scoring only 4 runs.
Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf took two wickets each, putting India in a challenging situation. However, thanks to a record-breaking fifth-wicket partnership between Ishan Kishan (82) and Hardik Pandya (87), India managed to post a total of 266 runs. Shaheen ended with figures of 4 for 35, while Haris and Naseem both took three wickets each.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were bowled in the same ODI for the first time, courtesy of Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi. But the similarities between their dismissals end there. Rohit received what can be described as an unplayable delivery from Shaheen, especially if one considers the previous two deliveries which went on with the angle and beat his bat. The same, however, cannot be said about Kohli, whose gingerly foot movement and wrong shot selection cost him.The likes of Waqar Younis, and Matthew Hayden termed Shaheen's delivery to Rohit as an outstanding one and said Kohli was a tad unlucky to get an inside edge back onto his stumps. But former India opener Gautam Gambhir was having none of it. He slammed Kohli for his indecisiveness against Shaheen Afridi.
"That was a nothing shot, neither forward, neither back. I think was a bit casual. That's what you get when you play someone like Shaheen Afridi. You don't know whether to go forward or back," Gambhir said in commentary on Star Sports.Pakistan legend Waqar was not so harsh. "Kohli was a touch unlucky. Inside edge, the ball didn't come on to bat and maybe even kept a bit low. But credit to Shaheen Shah Afridi for altering his length," he said.Hayden agreed: "Yeah, inside edge onto the stumps, could have got anywhere," he said.
The incident happened in the third delivery of the 7th over of India's innings. Shaheen had just dismissed India captain Rohit with a peach of a delivery after play resumed following a short rain interruption. The left-arm pacer ran in, hit the pitch hard and pushed the ball across Kohli. The former India captain tried to run it down to third man and got a thick inside edge back onto his stumps.
Generally, Kohli would pull this shot off 9 out of 10 times but not this time. And there were a few reasons for that. Only six balls into the innings, it was way too early to attempt a dab down third man, especially on a pitch that had shown signs of being two-paced and up and down as early as the second over of the match. Lastly, he did not cover the line of the ball with a big enough stride. Despite getting off the mark with a booming cover drive off Naseem Shah, Kohli had to walk back for only 4.Shaheen and Haris Rauf got two wickets each to leave India's in a spot of bother but thanks to a record fifth-wicket partnership between Ishan Kishan (82) and Hardik Pandya (87), India managed to put 266 runs on the board. Shaheen ended up with 4 for 35 while Haris and Naseem finished with three-fers. - reword it
