Jackson Barrett: Virat Kohli’s dropped catch and failure with the bat leaves his career at a crossroads

India’s King is at a crossroad in his reign. Virat Kohli was so widely backed to snap out of the deepest form slump of his career and counter-punch Australia in Perth that it felt a foregone conclusion. When he walked to the crease at 2-14 after less than an hour at Perth Stadium on Friday, it was reasonable to assume he would be immune to the anxious prods and nerve-jangling footwork his teammates had wrestled with. Instead this time he was the epitome, rather than the exception as he most often is, of India’s falter. Kohli’s outside-edge was beaten by Josh Hazlewood in the first over he faced, just before drinks. He was indecisive and unconvincing and lacked both his usual physical power and intangible impact of the game. Normally the heavyweight champ, Kohli became a punching bag for Australia’s quicks to lay their best work into. A dropped sitter in the final session at second slip again highlighted his worrying decline and stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah, who went in to bat for him this week, was furious. On Thursday, in an interview with The West Australian, fellow Indian great Sunil Gavaskar urged teammates to pick Kohli’s brains on how to handle the extra pace and bounce. But his teammates can learn from Kohli’s dismissal. Desperate to get forward — taking guard well outside his crease — and try and access the leg side, he made it too hard to get his hands out of the way of the rising Hazlewood ball that claimed his wicket. Kohli has not passed 20 in any of his past five innings, with scores of five, one, four, 17 and one tracking back through a horrid series against New Zealand. The stage, albeit wobbly, was set for Kohli to do what we had been promised he would: return to his dominant best against Australia. Now the second innings in Perth looms as one of the most important of his storied career. If, as is so often suggested, the man plays off emotion, defiance and a dose of petulance, we would surely be expecting results early on this tour. India have a hole they need to be pulled out of and Kohli has another chance to do it.