It feels like there are two Virat Kohlis taking part in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy and that's his own fault.
Six years ago, when he came on this very tour, he scored a century that would rank among the very best that any batter has made away from home. Perth 2018 was a hero's innings, the kind of innings that weds cricketers to their fans, and makes them believe anything is possible while they're at the crease.
Even at the start of 2024, Kohli was showing signs of outrageous competence. He made 46 on a pitch where South Africa were bowled out for 55. It's funny. A lot of his batting is mechanical. Straight lines. Robotic movements. But he gets the artist treatment. And that's entirely justified because his art is in defying expectation. The tougher the challenge, the better he played. Every team, across history, has wanted somebody like that.
Except right now he's not doing so great. It's almost as if all of Kohli's previous successes have come at a price and he's paying it by getting out to balls outside the off stump over and over again. All six of his dismissals in Australia have followed this pattern.
How do India address the issues regarding their two senior batters?
"It's time that he not only got runs but get out in a different fashion to show that he's overcome that problem," Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNcricinfo. "I've never seen somebody with the kind of performance and impact that Virat Kohli's had on Test cricket have this kind of weakness. I don't think any other top-class batter has had this. There may have been a patch where somebody has got out repeatedly in a fashion but this has gone on for far too long."
Kohli has walked in with his team in trouble in virtually every innings of this tour barring the one where he made a century. It's been the inverse of his career, right down to where he was being roundly booed by a record crowd at the MCG. Sam Konstas, even if he doesn't do anything further of significance in his life, which seems highly unlikely, could still point to Boxing day in Melbourne where he turned the most popular cricketer in the world into a villain.
Just before the shoulder barge, Konstas and Mohammed Siraj were getting stuck in. The bowler didn't like the batter charging him. He probably said as much. Soon after the first words were exchanged, Konstas used the crease differently, stepping away instead of stepping down, and carved Siraj for a four through point. The over ended with a predictable bouncer that Konstas didn't seem entirely in control of. Kohli thought he had a moment to seize as he walked down from slip. Here was a rookie taking high-risk options every time he was put under pressure. So let's put some more pressure on him.
Kohli got that one wrong, and as badly as it came off, a 36-year-old superstar trying to intimidate a 19-year-old starlet, the real-world effect was worse. It made Konstas double down on his aggression.
"I think Virat's always someone who's thrived on pressure," Aaron Finch said on ESPNcricinfo, "And he's thrived when his back's against the wall and it just feels at this stage he's trying to put his own back against the wall. He's trying to be antagonistic. He's trying to almost trying to pick a fight because that's when he plays at his best, when he feels that someone's coming at him. That's when he puts all his skill on show. Just feels like he's almost pushing other people to make him feel like that."
Kohli has defined so many Test series with his batting and his attitude. This one is being defined by his misjudgments. Sydney offers a chance for him to set it all right. He almost did in Melbourne when even Steven Smith thought Australia were about to be at the receiving end of a masterclass. That innings also went by the wayside because of a misjudgment - the run-out of Yashasvi Jaiswal rattling him so much that he immediately committed the mistake he was taking pains not to, reaching for a ball outside off.
Maybe the new year will help bring back the old Kohli. He's still the old Kohli on the field, engaging with the crowd, both when they boo him and when they cheer him. He revved them up on day four at the MCG when India fought back. He offered non-stop suggestions to Rohit Sharma. He was involved with every ball of the play. That guy walking out with the MRF bat is what India wants at the SCG where they need a win to retain the trophy. He would want it too. Maybe even need it. Not many players get to be part of a team when they're getting out the same way while they've been in patchy form for five years.