Birmingham/Calcutta: England captain Joe Root didn’t mind India counterpart Virat Kohli’s ‘mic drop’ celebration after the former’s run out on Wednesday, the first day of the ongoing opening Test, in Birmingham.  

Root, it seems, have taken it sportingly, saying “it adds to the spectacle of Test cricket”.  

Kohli’s gesture came after his direct throw from mid-wicket found the England captain short of crease during Wednesday’s play. Root, at that moment, was in the middle of a significant partnership with Jonny Bairstow, and the run out brought India back into the match.  

“I did not see it in the middle. Saw it last night after the 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,” Root told Sky Sports ahead of the second day’s play, on Thursday.

Kohli’s act was a response to the England captain’s ‘mic drop’ gesture during the ODI series. At Headingley, Root celebrated his century by dropping his bat — the bat drop — like stand-up comedians and musicians do the ‘mic drop’.
Root, however, regretted it later as he said: “It’s the most embarrassing thing I’ve done.

“It was something that I immediately regretted. I’ve not heard the end of it, it was literally the most embarrassing thing I’ve done on a cricket field.”

As far as Kohli’s ‘mic drop’ celebration is concerned, not just Root, England opener Keaton Jennings too didn’t make a fuss of it. “He celebrated, yeah... That was cool,” Jennings had said after the opening day’s play. 

About England’s performance on Wednesday, when they suffered a collapse from a position of strength, captain Root said: “It was a disappointing last session but for majority of the day we played some good cricket. We had good partnerships on a wicket that did a bit all day. That gives our bowlers a lot of confidence.” 

Talking about his mix-up with Bairstow that led to the run out, Root 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.”

Asked whether Kohli’s celebration would motivate England, Root said: “We’ll have to wait and see.

“I can’t see it becoming an issue throughout this game or moving forward.”

However, according to a report in the BBC, former England captain Michael Vaughan has predicted that there will be more flashpoints between the two sides during the series.

“We’ve only had one day of a five-match series and something has happened. There will be more and more of it.
“When you play the one-dayers before the Test series, it adds a bit of drama, because incidents happen and get taken into the Tests.

“We don’t want it to go over the top.”