Kohli sends off Root with mic-drop celebration

Aggressive Virat Kohli rarely holds back anything against his rivals, often repaying them with the same coin. On an enchanting day of Test cricket where fortunes fluctuated before settling with India, the Indian skipper gave his English counterpart Joe Root a strong send-off.

Kohli mimicked the mic-drop celebration Root performed when he scored a series-clinching century in the third ODI at Headingley before putting his finger on his lips. Kohli then blew kisses to Root as he trudged off dejected.

The celebration was a clear response to Root who dropped his bat after the triumph in Leeds. ‘Mic drop’ is celebratory act often performed rappers to signal the end of a statement.

While English media wasn’t amused by Kohli’s act, Keaton Jennings felt ever player is entitled to their own celebration and saw nothing wrong in it. “Everybody is entitled to celebrate how they want to. He celebrated, and that's cool.”

Meanwhile, India pacer Mohammed Shami lauded spinner R Ashwin for bagging four wickets on the opening day. “He bowled very well today. As a bowling unit on English wickets you see that fast bowlers bowl well, but in between that, a spinner has come and done so well. He built partnerships with the fast bowlers and it helps take our confidence up as well. Overall, the fast bowlers bowled well too, and we combined well with him. We didn’t miss the second spinner because we paired up so well as we had experience on our side.”