The five-match one-day international series between India and New Zealand ended on a sour note for Virat Kohli, whose performance fell far short of expectations during what is widely seen as his final tour of the country. Kohli began the bilateral assignment with promising form, striking a solid 74 in the opening encounter. However, that bright start evaporated rapidly in the matches that followed, as he was dismissed for 7 in the second game and departed for a duck in the fourth contest.
Attention shifted to the fifth and concluding fixture of the series at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, where spectators anticipated a redeeming knock from the seasoned batter. Instead, Kohli managed only 5 runs before heading back to the dressing room. Across four batting outings in the series, he failed to cross double digits on three occasions, completing an unwanted batting slump that mirrors a rare low point in his decorated international tenure.
Equalling a Rare Career Low After 13 Years
Widely regarded as one of modern limited-overs cricket's finest performers, such a drastic dry spell from Kohli on New Zealand soil caught observers off guard. Across his entire career, this marked only the second time that he registered three single-digit scores in a bilateral one-day international series featuring four or more matches. The only prior instance occurred during the 2012-13 season when Pakistan toured India, a contest in which he was dismissed for scores of 0, 6, and 7 across three matches. A full 13 years later, that frustrating statistical footnote has resurfaced.
Four Instances of Three Single-Digit Dismissals Across All Tournaments
When extending the scope beyond bilateral contests to include multi-team tournaments and triangular series, this marks the fourth occasion in Kohli's overall one-day international career where he has registered three single-digit dismissals in a single event. The earliest instance arrived during the 2011 World Cup, where he failed to hit double digits in three distinct innings. It happened next during Pakistan's 2012-13 bilateral tour of India, followed by the 2014-15 Carlton Mid ODI Tri-Series staged in Australia, where he again fell in single figures three times. The 2026 tour of New Zealand now represents the fourth chapter in that rare sequence of batting difficulties.
India's Top Order Collapses Throughout the Series
Kohli's struggles reflected a broader systemic failure at the top of the batting order throughout the tour. With one of the five scheduled matches washed out by persistent rain, India's top three batters compiled dismal aggregate figures across the remaining four completed fixtures. In those four matches, the top three positions contributed merely 176 runs at an anemic collective average of 14.66, managing just one half-century across the entire series, which came from Kohli himself in the opening clash.
This outcome stands in stark contrast to the team's commanding top-order form during their previous one-day international engagement against the West Indies last month. In that three-match series, the top three batters combined for 727 runs at an extraordinary average of 103.85. The rapid collapse from that dominant display against the West Indies to the severe struggle against New Zealand's bowling attack highlighted glaring technical challenges in challenging overseas conditions.
