England captain Joe Root, who was given a send-off by Virat Kohli following his dismissal on Wednesday said that the gesture by the Indian captain “adds to the spectacle of Test cricket.”
Root became the 15th English player and fourth fastest Englishmen to reach 6000 Test runs when he guided a Ravichandran Ashwin delivery to the boundary. He had made 80 and looked well poised for a century when a Kohli direct-hit from deep mid-wicket found the England skipper short of the crease as he attempted a quick two.
“I did not see it in the middle. Saw it last night after day’s play. It adds to the whole spectacle of Test cricket. Gives a bit of humour to it. It also makes it for a very entertaining series. Let’s see how things pan out over the course of the five Tests,” the 27-year-old told Sky Sports.
Kohli’s celebration of flying kisses and the mike-drop act was in response to a similar gesture by Root, who after guiding England to a 2-1 ODI series victory with consecutive tons, had dramatically dropped his bat in a gesture to the Indians.
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Opener Keaton Jennings who was also asked about the incident took it lightly and said that such celebrations are normal.
“It’s fine. Everybody is entitled to celebrate how they want to. He celebrated, and that’s cool,” said Jennings at the end of first day’s play.
Meanwhile, England who looked set to pose a big total when Root and Jonny Bairstow (70) stitched a 100+ run partnership, was however bundled out for 287. Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for India with a 4-fer, while Mohammad Shami took three wickets to complement his efforts.
“It was a disappointing last session but for the majority of the day, we played some good cricket. And that is what we have got to take into today. We had good partnerships on a wicket that did a bit all day. That gives our bowlers a lot of confidence.” said Root.
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His run-out after a mix-up with Bairstow was a turning point in the England innings as they slumped down from a 111/2 to all out for 287. Root, however, refused to look it that way. He said,
“It was a human error. It happens, unfortunately. You hear a call and you trust your mate. It happens. I could have easily said no (to the second run) as well. No hard feelings there.”