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England Test cricketer Alex Lees provides intriguing details about a heated confrontation with cricket icon Virat Kohli during the 2022 Edgbaston Test against India.
Virat Kohli’s attempt to assert dominance
Lees, who boasts a relatively modest ten-Test career, revealed that the Indian stalwart aimed to assert his authority over him and engaged in sledging directed at Lees’ fellow teammates.
“Because I was an inexperienced international, he was trying to use his weight. It was a pretty poor cricket chat. He was just carrying on in a fashion he can do sometimes. He had been getting under people’s skin in the field when he was batting,” Lees was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
Alex Lees’ fearless response to Kohli
Despite his limited international experience, Lees did not shy away from the confrontation. He humorously informed Kohli that he had become a parent to two children since Kohli’s last international century. This witty retort came in the context of Kohli’s over two-year-long century drought at that time.
“I’m not fussed about someone’s position in the game. We are all equal out on the pitch. I just wasn’t going to put up with someone trying to intimidate me. It was as simple as that. He is an incredible player, but I thought he was just being a bit of an idiot. I’ve had two kids since you last scored a century,” the 30-year-old added.
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The missed century opportunity and Test match dynamics
Lees, however, expressed a tinge of remorse about his dismissal at 56 runs during that Test match. His intent was to silence Kohli with a century.
“The biggest shame for me was I reached 56 and then got run out. The ultimate reply would have been to get an unbeaten hundred and win the game, but I didn’t get the chance,” the Halifax-born cricketer concluded.
Notably, Kohli’s performance in the Edgbaston Test was forgettable, as he could only manage scores of 11 and 20. India, eventually, suffered a Test defeat as England accomplished a record run-chase of 378.
