India captain Virat Kohli mocked his England rival Joe Root after running out the England captain on the opening day of the first Test at the Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham on Wednesday.
England were 216 for 3 when Kohli’s magnificent direct throw sent Root packing for 80 runs. Just after the run-out, Kohli mocked Root by blowing a kiss and mimicked his ‘mic drop’ celebration. Kohli’s ‘mic drop’ gesture was the imitation of Root’s celebration during the ODI series against India few days ago.
England were on course for a substantial first-innings total when Root and Jonny Bairstow shared a fourth-wicket stand of 104 runs.
But his 11th Test fifty without a hundred ended in frustrating fashion after a run out involving Bairstow.
Root’s run out sparked an England collapse against India in their first innings. England were bowled out for 287 in what is their 1000th Test.
England’s Keaton Jennings tried to defuse any potential bad feeling by saying: “Everybody is entitled to celebrate how they want to.
“He (Kohli) celebrated, and that’s cool,” the opening batsman added.
After Jennings now Root himself has reacted to the incident.
The England captain admitted that he didn’t see Kohli’s celebrations as he was walking towards the dressing room after being run-out. But he was also fine with it and felt that such competitiveness livens up the five-match Test series.
“I didn’t see it in the middle but did catch it later in the night. Look, it’s fine. That’s what makes Test cricket a spectacle. It’s great to have that sort of entertainment early on in the series. Let’s see how it goes over the five matches,” he was quoted as saying by The Field.
