For over a decade, the Adelaide Oval has been Virat Kohli's stage of brilliance. But on Thursday, as he walked back for a second consecutive duck, the first in his ODI career, and waved gently to the crowd, the moment felt more like a curtain call than just another dismissal.
Adelaide has long been his fortress. Across formats, no visiting batter has scored more runs at the venue, 976 in total.
When Kohli walked out to bat, the stadium roared in admiration. But after a brief four-ball stay, the applause that followed his dismissal carried a different tone, warm, reflective, almost farewell-like. For once, Kohli acknowledged it.
Was it simply a thank you to his beloved Adelaide faithful, or a silent goodbye to a ground that has defined so many of his peaks? Social media certainly thought so. The chatter wasn't about his back-to-back ducks as much as that quiet wave.
This comeback series has been anything but ordinary. Playing his first international games after a seven-month break, having already retired from Tests and T20Is, Kohli's return to ODIs has been a struggle.
In Perth, Mitchell Starc dismissed him for an eight-ball duck, angling the ball away from him, a familiar nemesis. Kohli, stuck on nought for seven deliveries, tried to force a shot and ended up slicing to backward point.
Three days later in Adelaide, it was the opposite kind of delivery that undid him. Xavier Bartlett set him up beautifully, pushing the ball across before sneaking one back in and trapping Kohli plumb in front with the fullest ball of his spell. The replays showed it was crashing into middle stump.
Kohli, visibly frustrated, walked off in disbelief as Australia struck twice in the seventh over, removing both Shubman Gill and Kohli to dent India's cautious start.
As he made that slow walk back, Kohli turned once more to the Adelaide crowd, this time perhaps for the last time. The fans rose to their feet, acknowledging a man who has given them some of modern cricket's greatest memories.
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