Virat Kohli had plenty to say to England opener Alex Lees as the Poms reached 107 at tea, needing 271 more runs to win the rescheduled fifth Test against India. Kohli hurled a few words to rile up Jonny Bairstow, and as if that weren't enough, the Indian had an animated exchange with Lees on Day 4 at Edgbaston. The verbal exchange happened as Lees played out a maiden against Mohammed Shami and players from both camps headed back to the dressing room for tea. (India vs England Live Score, 5th Test, Day 4)
Kohli, known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, even asked the crowd to get louder after Jasprit Bumrah removed Zak Crawley just before the end of second session. The stand-in India captain hit the top of off-stump with a nip-backer that Crawley misjudged.
The Indian camp was ecstatic as Bumrah struck again after the restart to remove Ollie Pope, who feathered it to Rishabh Pant behind the sticks. The fast bowler's double-strike left England two down as they chase a record-breaking target of 378 runs in the series-deciding Test.
{{/usCountry}}The Indian camp was ecstatic as Bumrah struck again after the restart to remove Ollie Pope, who feathered it to Rishabh Pant behind the sticks. The fast bowler's double-strike left England two down as they chase a record-breaking target of 378 runs in the series-deciding Test.
{{/usCountry}}Lees also perished in the next over as Kohli went berserk during the celebrations. Batting on 56, Lees edged it to backward square leg but was late to react to Joe Root's call for a single. He was nowhere in the picture as Shami collected the ball and passed it on to Ravindra Jadeja, who disturbed the stumps.
Kohli earlier had a heated exchange with Bairstow during England's first innings. Even the umpires had to intervene to cool down tempers. The former India skipper commented on the 'play and miss' game of Bairstow, who then went on to hit 106 off 140 balls.
"Nah, there was literally nothing to it," said Bairstow, playing down the war of words with Kohli. "We've played against each other for a solid 10 years now. It's a bit of craic (having good time, enjoyable social activity). We're fiercely competitive on the field and that's what it's about.
"We're playing Test cricket and we're two competitors. It brings the best out of us. Whatever it takes, you want to get your team over the line and that's part and parcel of the game," added Bairstow.