Virat Kohli sledges Stuart Broad: A footage from the fourth day of the Trent Bridge test shows Indian captain giving it back to Broad for Pant send-off.
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This time the victim was English pacer, Stuart Broad, who learned this law the hard way.
India’s resurgence with the bat frustrated the English players at Trent Bridge, especially the bowlers, who had to bowl long spells to get the visitors out. India’s poor batting form in the first two Test matches disappointed many, but with such a clinical come-back with the bat in the third Test means that there is still hope for the visitors.
The Indian top-order stars Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane got in big scores to aid the team upfront. However, it was the likes of Hardik Pandya and debutante Rishabh Pant who controlled India’s latter stage of the game.
England’s frustration grew, and it was made even more evident when Rishabh Pant was dismissed by Stuart Broad on Day 2 of the Test match.
On debut, Pant started off confidently, playing convincing strokes while having a good enough technique to tackle the good balls defensively. However, a wide delivery got the better of his patience, as he chopped the ball back onto his stumps. The break-through got Broad going, who did not stop from giving Pant an ‘abusive send-off’.
Broad’s antics were not welcomed by any of the Indian fans, with his aggression marked towards a 20-year-old debutante. Cricket fans criticized the veteran pacer over social media, with many claiming that the Englishman will get some of it back from the Indian team. And their skipper Virat Kohli, did not let them down.
India’s position in the Test match grew stronger as England found themselves trying to save the Test match late on Day 4 with just two wickets remaining. Adil Rashid and Stuart Broad were pushing to get a partnership to close the day, and they were doing well with the partnership worth close to 50 runs.
The Sledge
When the 32-year-old came into bat, the Indian fans expected the team to give some payback to the Englishman. The incident finally came in the 95th over of England’s second innings when Mohammed Shami was bowling to Broad. Broad defended a good length ball on the fourth ball of the over, but skipper Kohli chirped in from the slip cordon, and managed to grab Broad’s attention.
Even though the video footage did not reveal who started the verbal exchange, but going by the looks of it, it seemed Virat Kohli said “Bolta reh jo bolna hai, Achhi baat hai (keep on saying what you want, it’s good).” Broad then came up with a reply, “That’s aggressive”.
Also read: India’s predicted XI for 4th test against England
Following that, Virat Kohli quickly reminded of what Broad had done to a debutante: “That’s what you get for having a go at the youngster (Rishabh Pant)”. Broad then had a big smile on his face while saying: “It’s Test cricket man. It’s aggressive. That’s aggressive Virat”.
Here is the video of the incident:
Despite the banter not lasting long, Broad and Rashid managed to get in a 50-run partnership. However, that was not enough to save the game, as Broad was dismissed by Bumrah in the 97th over. James Anderson came to the crease, and managed to stay till the end of the day, but England could not survive on the final day, losing the match by 203 runs.
It was one of the perfect matches for Kohli, who scored an accumulated 200 runs in the match, along with avenging Rishabh Pant’s send-off and teaching a lesson to Stuart Broad.
