India vs Australia, 2nd ODI: Virat Kohli not immune to nervous nineties, falls for 5th time in ODIs

Courtesy: IANS

New Delhi: India captain Virat Kohli is already a legend. He has shown steely resolve while playing for India, but like any other mortal, he too has his Achilles heel. And it was exposed, once again, during the second ODI match against Australia at Eden Gardens on Thursday. (LIVE BLOG || SCORECARD)

Batting first, Indian middle order collapsed against a disciplined Aussie attack. But the skipper halt the slide with a brilliant 92, a knock which showed his quality. The 28-year-old indeed deserved his 31st ODI hundred, but that was not to be.

This is his sixth score in the 90s in ODIs, proving that he's not immune to nervous nineties. For the uninitiated, it's one notorius term used predominantly by commentators when a batsman slows down scoring rate or gets out after crossing 90. Hitting a hundred is still the ultimate aim for individual players. That's probably why players with more hundreds are considered 'better' cricketers. No need to invoke those names here.

For a player like Kohli, who thrives in competition and puts team's cause above all, hundreds are immateraial. But unfortunately for him, it's happened for the fifth time. It's not a blot in his near-perfect career, though.

Here's the list of Kohli's dismissals in 90's:

1. 91 vs Bangladesh in Mirpur, 2010

2. 94 vs West Indies in Kingston, 2011

3. 99 vs West Indies in Vizag, 2013

4. 91 vs Australia in Perth, 2016

5. 92 vs Australia in Kolkata today

In 2017, he scored an unbeaten 96 against Bangladesh in Birmingham.

Interestingly, Sachin Tendulkar 18 such scores.

Batting first, India set Australia a 253-run target. India lead the five-match series 1-0 after winning the series opener by 26 runs in Chennai last Sunday.