Virat Kohli’s animated send off to his counterpart Joe Root’s dismissal added a dash of drama to the proceedings on the opening day of the first cricket Test between India and England, here on Wednesday.
It was Kohli’s send-off to Root that caught attention.
Root was looking set to get a big one but a brilliant piece of fielding from Kohli saw the right-hander getting run-out for 80.
Root tried to steal a second run off Ravichandran Ashwin but Kohli ran quickly, picked up the ball and threw it in one swift motion to knock down the stumps with a direct hit.
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Kohli celebrated the dismissal with a ‘mic-drop’ send-off, something Root had done after guiding England to a 2-1 ODI series win against India last month.
Root celebrated his hundred against India in the third ODI at Headingley last month with a ‘mic-drop’ celebration, when he held the bat out and dropped it to the ground. It is a gesture employed mostly by performers in the entertainment industry, who drop microphones to signify a crushing defeat of an opponent.
Root later described it as the most embarrassing thing he had done on a cricket field but Virat Kohli, it seems, was not thrilled. After the Indian captain ran Root out with a direct hit on Wednesday, he mocked his counterpart’s ‘mic-drop’ celebration, and blew kisses in his direction.
It may not be the last such episode this summer.
Later, Keaton Jennings, though, had no issue with Kohli’s actions. “Everybody is entitled to celebrate how they want to. He celebrated, and that’s cool,” he said.