With Virat Kohli on the field, something eventful is more or less guaranteed. During the second ODI against Sri Lanka on Sunday, Kohli's exuberant celebration after taking a catch quickly became the talk of social media. The moment unfolded in the 27th over of Sri Lanka's innings, when Axar Patel, newly introduced into the attack, lured Sadeera Samarawickrama into a lofted shot. Samarawickrama, attempting to hit against the spin, danced down the track, only to see his effort thwarted by Kohli.
Positioned at the covers, Kohli backtracked to take a comfortable catch. However, it was his celebration that captured the spotlight. After securing the dismissal, Kohli turned towards the dugout and broke into a spontaneous Bihu dance, an Assamese folk dance. This unexpected move delighted fans and quickly went viral, sparking a flurry of reactions on social media.
The gesture appeared to be a nod to his teammate Riyan Parag, who is also part of the Indian ODI squad and hails from Assam.
Watch the moment here:
Parag is known to idolise Kohli, and has cheered for the Indian batting stalwart on multiple occasions on his official social media accounts. The Sri Lankan tour marked Parag's maiden call-up in the ODI squad, and the first time he shares the dressing room with Kohli.
{{/usCountry}}Parag is known to idolise Kohli, and has cheered for the Indian batting stalwart on multiple occasions on his official social media accounts. The Sri Lankan tour marked Parag's maiden call-up in the ODI squad, and the first time he shares the dressing room with Kohli.
{{/usCountry}}However, the Assam batter continues to wait for a maiden cap in the format. He has earlier played in T20Is against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
Kohli, meanwhile, made a return to the ODI format for the first time since the ODI World Cup last year, where India faced a crushing defeat to Australia in the final. In the first ODI of the series, Kohli endured a quiet outing, scoring only 24 in the 231-run chase as the match ended in a thrilling tie in Colombo.
The series also marked the return of captain Rohit Sharma to the format.
Earlier in the second ODI, Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka opted to bat, but the side lost wickets at regular intervals in the opening stages of the game. India had earlier secured a 3-0 clean-sweep victory over the Lankans in the T20Is, which marked the beginning of a new era with Gautam Gambhir as head coach, and Suryakumar Yadav as the side's T20I captain.