Virat Kohli's difficult period continued as he succumbed for three in the first innings of the Gabba Test, resulting in his Test batting average falling to the lowest it has been since 2016.

Virat Kohli's difficult period continued as he succumbed for three in the first innings of the Gabba Test, resulting in his Test batting average falling to the lowest it has been since 2016.

A 30th century in the first Test of the series in Perth had raised hopes of a resurgence in Kohli's form, but so far it has turned out to be a false dawn. In the three innings Kohli has batted since the second innings in Perth, he has registered scores of 7, 11, and 3.

Today (December 16), the former India captain looked completely out of sorts in his brief stay at the crease. He played and missed several deliveries, got into an awkward position while fending a rising short ball from Mitchell Starc, and eventually ended up edging a Josh Hazlewood delivery through to the wicketkeeper attempting his trademark coverdrive.

Kohli's Test average falls below 47.5

Following the first innings dismissal in Brisbane, Kohli's Test record reads 9,166 runs at 47.49. This number is a far cry from where his average stood in 2019 - in the mid-fifties, with a peak of 55.10.

In fact, this is the first time Kohli's average has dropped below the 47.50 mark since the Rajkot Test against England in 2016, where he made 40 and 49 across two innings.

Kohli's average had first touched 50 in his 52nd Test, against England in Mumbai in 2016 when he scored a double hundred. It never dropped below that mark for nearly six years.

However, once it did, which was after the Bengaluru day-night Test against Sri Lanka in 2022, his 101st Test match, Kohli's average has not recovered to cross that threshold again.

Lowest averages among players with 9,000 Test runs

At 47.49, Kohli sits third from the bottom in terms of averages of players who have scored at least 9,000 runs in Test cricket. Among the 19 players who satisfy the cut-off, only Hashim Amla (46.64) and Alastair Cook (45.35) averaged lower than what Kohli does at this stage.

Both Amla and Cook, however, batted majorly in the top three, while Kohli has mostly batted at No.4 or below in his Test career.

Player Mat Runs HS Average 100 50
Kumar Sangakkara 134 12400 319 57.4 38 52
Steve Smith 112 9805 239 56.35 33 41
Jacques Kallis 166 13289 224 55.37 45 58
Kane Williamson 105 9276 251 54.88 33 37
Sachin Tendulkar 200 15921 248* 53.78 51 68
Brian Lara 131 11953 400* 52.88 34 48
Rahul Dravid 164 13288 270 52.31 36 63
Younis Khan 118 10099 313 52.05 34 33
Ricky Ponting 168 13378 257 51.85 41 62
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 164 11867 203* 51.37 30 66
Sunil Gavaskar 125 10122 236* 51.12 34 45
Steve Waugh 168 10927 200 51.06 32 50
Joe Root 152 12918 262 50.85 36 64
Allan Border 156 11174 205 50.56 27 63
Mahela Jayawardene 149 11814 374 49.84 34 50
Graeme Smith 117 9265 277 48.25 27 38
Virat Kohli 121 9166 254* 47.49 30 31
Hashim Amla 124 9282 311* 46.64 28 41
Alastair Cook 161 12472 294 45.35 33 57

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