Virat Kohli celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Joe Root. Photo / Getty
Virat Kohli celebrates after taking the wicket of England's Joe Root. Photo / Getty
India captain Virat Kohli enraged England fans as he taunted Joe Root after dismissing the batsman with a brilliant run out during day one of the first Test overnight.
Root, who became the quickest England batsman to reach 6000 runs earlier in the day, had scored a comfortable 80 andlooked a safe bet to reach his 14th Test century in England's 1000th Test.
However, a poor decision from Jonny Bairstow to go for a quick two gave Kohli the chance to send the England skipper back to the pavilion, a chance he took with aplomb.
Virat Kohli silences the Edgbaston crowd after running out Joe Root. Photo / AP
Kohli, off balance, picked up the ball and smashed the base of the stumps with a brilliant throw, Root stranded well out of his ground despite a despairing dive.
And Kohli was clearly thrilled to get one over on his rival, blowing kisses to both batsmen as his team-mates rushed to congratulate him after breaking the 105-run partnership.
The 29-year-old then proceeded to mimic Root's "mic drop" celebration and and put his finger to his lips as the batsman trudged off, a dejected Bairstow looking on.
England batsman Joe Root celebrates his century off the last ball of the match against India. Photo / Getty
The celebration was a clear response to the moment England's Test captain theatrically dropped his bat after hitting the match-winning four in the ODI series victory at Headinley earlier this month.
The "mic drop", an act more commonly used by rappers or comedians to signal the end of a statement so definitive it cannot be followed, has been popularised by many famous figures over the years and Kohli clearly had not forgotten.
The run out and celebration also served to revitalise the visitors, Bairstow and Jos Buttler falling in the space of eight runs as England's middle order collapsed.
