On Sunday at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to ODI action for India after months away. Despite the hype, the match turned into a disappointing outing for both. Kohli was dismissed for a duck off eight balls, getting caught at point by Cooper Connolly after edging a delivery from Mitchell Starc. Meanwhile, Rohit was out for just eight runs off 14 balls, edging one behind off Josh Hazlewood. 

Expectations and reality

Both players were returning after strong breaks and big milestones. Rohit was playing his 500th international match, a major achievement. Expectations were high that they would lead from the front. But early wickets and a shaky top order left India in trouble and set the tone for social media reaction.

Social media erupts with memes

As soon as the scores came up: 0 for Kohli and 8 for Rohit, fans flooded platforms with memes, jokes and sarcasm. Many complained they stayed up early only to see a forgettable start; others pointed to Kohli's 'outside off-stump' weakness and mocked both for their returns. Here are some of the memes and reactions:

A quiet return for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.#AUSvIND twitter/nA1dh72AIi

- Wisden (@WisdenCricket) October 19, 2025

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma GOAT #INDvsAUS twitter/Qf5L8vyCxN

- Sajcasm (@sajcasm_) October 19, 2025

Full Support Rohit Aur Virat ko #INDvsAUS twitter/o6cP5dGNlo

- Byomkesh (@byomkesbakshy) October 19, 2025

Rohit and Virat should get more chances Meanwhile Agarkar twitter/eWXoakapwX

- AT10 (@Loyalsachfan10) October 19, 2025

Me after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli get out #INDvsAUS twitter/4OkERzd1Ec

- Pratyaksha (@Pratya_ksha) October 19, 2025

Rohit Sharma out for 8 runs Kohli out for Duck ruined for fans. twitter/5OqPrJds7v

- R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) October 19, 2025

#INDvsAUSVirat Kohli & Rohit Sharma Retirement Loading twitter/jXBBbUiHMk

- theboysthing (@theboysthing07) October 19, 2025

#INDvsAUSRohit and Virat Routine twitter/ynX60BB1IL

- SarcasmHit (@SarcasmHit) October 19, 2025

Virat and Rohit made sure nobody loses their Sunday sleep twitter/eqYuwv0Jx0

- Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) October 19, 2025

Thank you Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli twitter/qiPXCIJJmS

- PrinCe (@Prince8bx) October 19, 2025

Gautam Gambhir on Rohit and Virat's twitter/LETK44fd66

- maithun (@Being_Humor) October 19, 2025

What went wrong?

Timing and rhythm:After long breaks, both may have lacked the match-sharpness needed.

Bowling pressure: Australia's bowlers extracted movement and bounce in the Perth conditions. Rohit's edge and Kohli's outside-edge dismissal highlight this.

Expectation burden: The comeback hype might have added pressure.

India still have two more ODIs in the series (in Adelaide and Sydney). Both veterans will hope to bounce back and remind everyone why they are still top names. For fans, the meme moment is over but a solid innings from either would change the tone quickly.

Fans' disappointment after the pair failed to perform when many had expected them to is a reminder that even great players can struggle after breaks and big hype.

Australia and India's squads

Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(w), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh. 

(With ANI inuts)

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