Rohit, Kohli hit historic low with another failure vs NZ
What's the story
India's cricketing stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, have had a disastrous run in the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand. Both batters fell for single-digit scores in the fifth and final match on Sunday in Mount Maunganui. Just a day after being dismissed by Matt Henry in the first over of India's heavy 244-run defeat in the fourth ODI, both players struggled again in seaming conditions.
Poor start
Terrible start for India
Batting first in the game, India were off to a terrible start with Rohit falling in the sixth over.
The 39-year-old opener looked uncomfortable even after hitting a boundary through extra cover.
His innings came to an end in the sixth over when he mistimed a flick off Matt Fisher's delivery, which was caught by the deep mid-wicket fielder.
Two overs later, Fisher got the better of Kohli as well. The latter top-edged a 145kph short delivery outside off as Tim Seifert accepted the catch.
While Rohit departed for seven off 13 balls, Kohli made five off seven.
Underperformance
An average of 7.5 for Rohit
Rohit's performance in the series has been disappointing to say the least.
He managed to score just 30 runs in four innings, making it one of his worst bilateral performances ever.
This tally includes two ducks. As per Cricinfo, Rohit clocked his worst average as an opener in an ODI series (7.5).
This is also the worst average by an opener in a bilateral ODI series in New Zealand (minimum 4 innings).
Struggles continue
Kohli's struggles on this tour
Kohli also struggled on this tour, registering his second-lowest average for a bilateral series with at least four innings.
He managed to score just 86 runs at 21.5 runs per innings in the series.
This is his second-worst performance in a bilateral series since he averaged 18 during the dismal England tour of 2014.
After a stellar performance in the first ODI with a 51-ball 74, Kohli failed to live up to expectations in subsequent matches.
His next three scores were 7,0, and 5.
Historic low
Historic low for India in 4th ODI
India also witnessed a historic ODI low in the fourth match against New Zealand.
The team was reduced to 0/3 and later 9/4 with Rohit, Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer dismissed for ducks in the very first over.
This is the first time in Indian cricket history that the Men in Blue lost their first three wickets without a run on the board.
Rare occurrence
Rare instance of both players getting dismissed for ducks
Notably, the fourth ODI marked only the second instance of both Rohit and Kohli scoring ducks in the same ODI.
The last such instance was back in 2010 against Sri Lanka in a tri-series match at Dambulla.
Despite their dismal performance on this tour, both players remain key figures in India's cricketing landscape.
Stats
Greats of the game
Despite their recent failures, both Kohli and Rohit have been ruling the ODI format.
Arguably the greatest all-format batter, Kohli has the second-most ODI runs, behind Tendulkar (18,426).
The former currently owns 15,195 runs from 321 matches at a staggering average of 58.21.
He is the only player with over 50 ODI centuries (55). The batting ace also has 80 fifties.
Meanwhile, Rohit has scored 12,150 runs across 296 matches at an average of 48.60. He has struck 35 hundreds and 63 fifties.
The veteran also happens to be the batter with the most double-tons in the format (3).