India vs England: Virat Kohli dismissed for the first time for a duck by spinner as Moeen Ali bamboozles him

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Chennai, January 13: Indian batsmen are conventionally hailed as good players of spin bowling but they have been struggling against quality spin in the ongoing Test series against England.

In the second Test match against the English side at MA Chidambaram Stadium two of India's finest batsmen against spin bowlers, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, fell in quick succession after being outfoxed by the tweakers.

India's struggle against spin at home condition once again came to the fore both Pujara and Kohli failed to read the line and paid the price. While Pujara was outfoxed Jack Leach for 21, Kohli was dismissed for a duck by a peach of a delivery from Ali as the Indians were dealt with a huge blow.

Having laboured through 58 deliveries and forged a partnership of 85 runs with Rohit Sharma, Pujara played a careless shot to trigger his downfall. The right-handed batsman pushed through quicker and just outside off delivery that spun sharply. As Pujara had committed to his forward prod, all he could do was to jab at the ball which flew to the left of Ben Stokes at slip cordon and the all-rounder made it look straightforward.

Pujara's dismissal came as a relief to the visitors for they desperately needed a wicket as the hosts were looking set for a strong finish to the morning session on day one after having won the toss.

The hosts were dealt with a major blow a few minutes later when their captain and batting mainstay, Kohli was bamboozled by a terrific delivery from Moeen Ali for a duck. Kohli - who had walked into the middle to bat in his 150th Test innings - looked to play an expansive drive off Ali but the classic off-break delivery spun back in sharply and sneaked past the big gap between the bat and pad and crashed into the top of off-stump. It took some time for the Indian captain to comprehend the fact that he was clean bowled and thought the ball went off the wicketkeeper's gloves. He stayed in the middle to watch the replay and get confirmed before walking off the pitch.

It was the first instance in Test cricket when Kohli was dismissed for a duck by a spinner. It was the India cricketer's eleventh duck overall in the red-ball cricket. It is the first instance when Kohli has been dismissed for a duck in consecutive Tests.

Watch Virat Kohli's dismissal

Both Kohli and Pujara's dismissal brought England back in the game and draw the morning session as the hosts reached 106/3 in 26 overs.

Fans, as well as the experts, were surprised that two of India's finest batsmen against spin bowling committed such blunders and gifted their wickets away.