Indian captain Virat Kohli following his side's second test defeat to New Zealand. Photo / Getty
Indian captain Virat Kohli following his side's second test defeat to New Zealand. Photo / Getty
Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli ducked a question about his on-field behaviour following his side's second test loss to the Black Caps yesterday.
New Zealand cruised to a seven wicket win at Hagley Oval after chasing down the target of 132 to win the test inside three days.
Kohli wasquestioned in the post-match press conference about an incident the previous day when the fired-up Indian skipper sent a pointed message to members of the crowd in Christchurch following the dismisal of New Zealand opener Tom Latham in the first innings.
As the Indian team celebrated the breakthrough, Kohli faced the and crowd and shushed his critics, appearing to mouth the words, "Shut the f*** up".
Asked about the incident while also being accused of swearing at New Zealand captain Kane Williamson following his first innings departure, Kohli said the journalist needed to come up with a better question.
"You need to find out exactly what happened and then come with a better question. You can't come here with half questions and half details of what happened.
"And also, if you want to create controversy, this is not the right place to be. I had spoken to the match referee and he had no issues with what happened."
The 31-year-old — who won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award in January — was also spotted mocking the crowd on Sunday, imitating a drunk person.
Kohli was gracious in defeat as the world's top rated test side were handed a 2-0 series defeat.
Virat Kohli looks dejected after being dismissed by Colin de Grandhomme. Photo / Getty
"We were completely outplayed in this series," said Kohli.
"We were not positive enough, we were not brave enough."
Kohli has been ruthlessly criticised for his poor performances with the bat during the New Zealand tour. Although he's touted as the world's best batsman across formats, Kohli has endured the worst series of his 12-year international career.
The 218 runs Kohli scored across nine matches in New Zealand is the lowest he has ever achieved on a tour where he played all the three formats.
Kohli averaged 9.50 with the bat after four Test innings, his lowest ever in an away series. With scores of two, 19, three and 14, it's also the second time in his 10-year Test career he hasn't passed 20 in a series. This is only the fourth occasion where Kohli failed to pass 20 more than once in a run of seven innings.
Even tailender Shami scored more runs than his skipper during the two-Test series.
Missing straight balls now Kohli. What a horror Test series.
ABC Grandstand radio presenter Akash Fotedar tweeted, "The inability of the other batsmen to carry the load in [Kohli's] absence has made this a tough tour for India".
Kohli was recently dethroned at the world's No. 1 Test batsman, dropping to second below Australia's Steve Smith. He's one of only two batsmen ranked in the top 10 for all three formats, alongside Pakistan's Babar Azam.
