Bowlers who dismissed Virat Kohli as their first wicket in Internationals
Virat Kohli, the Indian Test captain, walked out to bat at No.3 for the first time in Tests since the 2012-13 season on the first day of the 3rd Test match against West Indies after Jason Holder had asked India to bat first.
Kohli faced the 19-year old Alzarri Joseph who eventually dismissed the Indian skipper with a ball that bounced a bit more than usually and all Kohli managed was to edge it to slips. With the wicket, Joseph opened his wickets tally in Test as well as in International cricket.
This isn’t the first time Virat Kohli got out to a debutant in any format. Indeed, it was the 11th such instance and 4th time in Test cricket.
Here is the list of bowlers who dismissed Virat Kohli on their debut:
| Player | Opposition | Venue | Date | Inns | Format |
| Chanaka Welegedara | Sri Lanka | Rajkot | 15-Dec-09 | 1 | ODI |
| Suraj Randiv | Sri Lanka | Nagpur | 18-Dec-09 | 1 | ODI |
| John Hastings | Australia | Visakhapatnam | 20-Oct-10 | 2 | ODI |
| Sunil Narine | West Indies | Ahmedabad | 5-Dec-11 | 2 | ODI |
| Shaminda Eranga | Sri Lanka | Pallekele | 7-Aug-12 | 1 | T20I |
| Stuart Meaker | England | Pune | 20-Dec-12 | 2 | T20I |
| Mohammad Irfan | Pakistan | Bangalore | 25-Dec-12 | 1 | T20I |
| Glenn Maxwell | Australia | Hyderabad | 2-Mar-13 | 2 | Test |
| Josh Hazlewood | Australia | Brisbane | 17-Dec-14 | 1 | Test |
| Kagiso Rabada | South Africa | Mohali | 5-Nov-15 | 1 | Test |
| Alzarri Joseph | West Indies | Gros Islet | 9-Aug-16 | 1 | Test |
Chanaka Welegedara and Josh Hazlewood picked up Virat Kohli on their respective ODI and Test debuts but was not their maiden wicket.
Also read – West Indies v India 3rd Test, Day 1 – Statistical Highlights
Considering a players’ first wicket in a certain format, Joseph was only the 10th player to make Kohli his maiden victim in a format. In Tests, before Alzarri, only Kagiso Rabada had Kohli as his maiden wicket. Interestingly, both came as U19 bowling stars featuring in the U19 World Cup. Rabada from the 2014 U19 WC while Joseph is fresh from the 2016 WC.
Bowlers who got the wicket of Virat Kohli as their maiden wicket in a format:
| Player | Opposition | Venue | Date | Inns | Format | Debut |
| Adam Voges | Australia | Vadodara | 25-Oct-09 | 2 | ODI | No |
| Suraj Randiv | Sri Lanka | Nagpur | 18-Dec-09 | 1 | ODI | Yes |
| John Hastings | Australia | Visakhapatnam | 20-Oct-10 | 2 | ODI | Yes |
| Sunil Narine | West Indies | Ahmedabad | 5-Dec-11 | 2 | ODI | Yes |
| Brad Hogg | Australia | Sydney | 1-Feb-12 | 2 | T20I | No |
| Mitchell Marsh | Australia | Melbourne | 3-Feb-12 | 2 | T20I | No |
| Stuart Meaker | England | Pune | 20-Dec-12 | 2 | T20I | Yes |
| Mohammad Irfan | Pakistan | Bangalore | 25-Dec-12 | 1 | T20I | Yes |
| Kagiso Rabada | South Africa | Mohali | 5-Nov-15 | 1 | Test | Yes |
| Alzarri Joseph | West Indies | Gros Islet | 9-Aug-16 | 1 | Test | Yes |
Not many players before Alzarri Joseph had a chance to make Virat Kohli as their first ever wicket in International cricket. The last player was Sunil Narine, also from West Indies.
Bowlers who got the wicket of Virat Kohli as their maiden in International cricket:
| Player | Opposition | Venue | Date | Inns | Format | Debut |
| Suraj Randiv | Sri Lanka | Nagpur | 18-Dec-09 | 1 | ODI | Yes |
| John Hastings | Australia | Visakhapatnam | 20-Oct-10 | 2 | ODI | Yes |
| Sunil Narine | West Indies | Ahmedabad | 5-Dec-11 | 2 | ODI | Yes |
| Alzarri Joseph | West Indies | Gros Islet | 9-Aug-16 | 1 | Test | Yes |
Josh Hazlewood also picked up Virat Kohli’s wicket on his International debut but it was his 2nd wicket in Tests.
(Stats Updated till 9th August 2016)
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