Virat Kohli's first Test innings on Australian soil in 2011 making hosts play mind games?

The highly anticipated India vs Australia 2020 series is inching closer, and both sides are gearing up for the fierce battle that awaits. Captain Virat Kohli is India's most prolific run-scorer and will play a key role in the opening clash. This could be a reason why Australia have resorted to playing mind games to get an edge over the star batsman. 

Australia share Virat Kohli's first Test innings in Australia

After phenomenal performances in limited-overs cricket, Virat Kohli was finally included in the Test setup in 2011. His first major assignment came when he was added to the squad for the Australian tour the same year. However, the batsman failed to impress in his first innings down under and perished for 11. Cricket Australia shared the knock on their social media accounts ahead of India vs Australia 2020 Test series to possibly remind the player of his failure in that game. 

Despite the failure, a young Virat Kohli proved his mettle in red-ball cricket and played some significant knocks in the series. The batsman scored a gritty half-century in the third Test at Perth and also smashed a phenomenal hundred in the final fixture of the series at Adelaide. Interestingly, the first Test of the upcoming series will also be played at Adelaide, where Virat Kohli has a spectacular record to show. 

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Virat Kohli paternity leave

The Indian captain will only feature in the opening contest of the Test series. He is scheduled to fly back to India after that for the birth of his first child. News of Virat Kohli's paternity leave was received well by the fans, and the player also received support from the cricket fraternity for his decision. 

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Virat Kohli career stats 

Having played 86 Test matches in his career so far, the 32-year-old has 7240 runs in the format with 27 centuries and 22 fifties. The cricketer recently became the fastest to accumulate 12000 runs in ODIs and has scored 12040 runs in 251 matches, including 43 hundreds and 60 half-centuries. Virat Kohli has 2929 T20I runs in 85 fixtures. 

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India vs Australia pink ball Test 

This will mark the first day and night encounter between the two sides in the longer format. The India vs Australia pink ball Test will be played at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide from December 17. Fans in India can catch the live-action of the Test series on Sony Pictures Sports Network (SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 3 and SONY SIX) and also on the SonyLIV app. 

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Image source: AP