WATCH: Jaydev Unadkat dismisses Virat Kohli cheaply in first practice match of West Indies tour

Virat Kohli did not have a remarkable performance in his first competitive match of the West Indies trip. On Wednesday, Team India players began preparations for the forthcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies with an intra-squad practice match. His issue with the fourth or fifth stump line is not new. Bowlers from all over the world have used that strategy to dismiss the Indian star.

Kohli, like many other Indian top-order hitters, is not at his best against left-arm seamers at the start of their innings. After initially bowling over the wicket, Jaydev Unadkat shifted to around the wicket and delivered a decent length outside off-stump. Virat Kohli went at it with powerful hands and gave the slip fielder a routine catch.

Watch the video below:

Virat Kohli's dismissal in the practice match in Barbados today. Jaydev Unadkat claimed his wicket. #WIvIND

Video courtesy: Vimal Kumar pic.twitter.com/IltleUGgwy

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 5, 2023

Kohli’s form in Test cricket

Kohli has been in average form in Test cricket in recent years. Over the previous three years, he has scored 1,239 runs at an average of 31.76 in 23 Tests, with six half-centuries and a single century. The only century came against Australia in March of this year. During the next series, the Indian batter will be anxious to recover his regular score batting form in his preferred format.

The Indian cricketers arrived in the Caribbean islands nine days before the first Test, giving them a great opportunity to put their talents to the test in a match-like simulation in Barbados. The top-order hitters – Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and frontline bowlers Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja were separated into two sides in the first of those match-simulations.

Unless they were dismissed, the batters batted in pairs. After solid performances from Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first session, Kohli stepped out to bat alongside Shubman Gill in the post-lunch session. Kohli’s time in the middle, though, was brief, as he was removed by Jaydev Unadkat. The former India skipper batted smoothly against Ravindra Jadeja and seemed to be in complete control even while attempting to pull the ball back in or angle it away from over the wicket against Unadkat.