England fan group Barmy Army doesn't share the best of relationships with star India batter Virat Kohli. Both are known for taking swipes at each other whenever the Indians are taking on England on the field. Their bitter relationship continued unabated on Sunday as Barmy Army mocked Virat Kohli with âCheerio' chants as the former India skipper made his way back to the pavilion after getting dismissed for 20 in the second innings of the fifth and final Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Cheerio @imVkohli đ #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/Ash41UoJpA
â England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) July 3, 2022
Earlier, Indian cricket fans showed their sympathy towards Virat Kohli, after he lost his wicket for 20.
Virat Kohli's wicket came out of the blue, considering he was showing immense determination and application to stick around in the middle.
He looked good to end his long barren spell but fell to an unplayable delivery from England captain Ben Stokes in the last session of play on Day 3 of the Test match.
After losing the wicket of Shubhman Gill in the first over of their second innings, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara got their act together following the dismissal of Hanuma Vihari.
However, just when it appeared both batters had settled nicely at the crease, Ben Stokes came up with a jaffa to send Virat Kohli back to the pavilion.
Ben Stokes bowled the ball on a good length and at the off stump, but it took off after hitting the ground and also moved away a bit.
As Virat Kohli was forced to play the ball, it took his glove before moving in the direction of England wicketkeeper Sam Billings. Though Sam Billings failed to grab the ball, Joe Root was alert enough to pouch it on the rebound, ending Virat Kohli's brief stay at the crease.
Fans, however, were sympathetic towards Kohli as they called him âunluckyâ for getting such a delivery, and he couldn't have done much about it.
While there were others, who talked about his âpassionâ for the game before emphasizing that he may not be scoring runs at the moment but his commitment to Indian cricket remains unparalleled.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli stirred up a storm in the United Kingdom after he blew kisses to celebrate England wicketkeeper batter Jonny Bairstow's dismissal.
âKohli has a brass neck blowing mocking kisses at a bloke whoâs scored three more Test hundreds in the past month than he has in the past 2.5 years,â noted British broadcaster Piers Morgan said on Twitter.
Kohli has a brass neck blowing mocking kisses at a bloke whoâs scored three more Test hundreds in the past month than he has in the past 2.5 years. pic.twitter.com/9aO6rH1Abs
â Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 3, 2022
âKohli seems to be making the game look hard, not sure of his off stump and seems to be trying too hard that his natural intensity even looks forced. A man trying to find his place again.. It canât be easy for him falling back into rank and file after leading the team,â ex-England opener Nick Compton joined in criticism of Virat Kohli.
Kohli seems to be making the game look hard, not sure of his off stump and seems to be trying too hard that his natural intensity even looks forced. A man trying to find his place again.. It canât be easy for him falling back into rank and file after leading the team. #ENGvIND
â Nick Compton (@thecompdog) July 3, 2022
Notably, Virat Kohli's reaction to Jonny Bairstow's departure after the duo was engaged in an ugly on-field brawl earlier in the day.
Video footage showed Virat Kohli signaling Jonny Bairstow to stay inside the crease after he walked up to the England wicketkeeper batter. The former India captain then made gestures with his hands, telling Jonny Bairstow to shut up.
Things turned nasty on Day 3 as Virat Kohli was heard saying âShut up. Just stand and batâ to Jonny Bairstow on the stump mic.
Virat Kohli then had a chat with England skipper Ben Stokes who then went up to Jonny Bairstow to calm him down and the two punched each otherâs gloves before having a good laugh over it.
Virat Kohliâs sledging, however, backfired as Jonny Bairstow became ultra aggressive after this incident. The Englishman went into overdrive â while he was earlier mistiming his strokes, Virat Kohliâs words fired him up.
Suddenly, Jonny Bairstow started gaining in confidence before unleashing his full repertoire of strokes â short-arm pulls, drives, lofted hits over the inner circle and the runs started to come at a rapid pace.
The England star who was the main hero of Englandâs 3-0 whitewash of New Zealand before this Test match looked menacing, especially after bringing up his fifty in the first session of play.
Notably, it took him 20 minutes to score his first run on Day 3. But an altercation with Virat Kohli was what he needed to get going.
Runs kept flowing from his bat in the second session as Jonny Bairstow coasted through to his third century in as many Tests before being sent back to the pavilion by Mohammed Shami for 106.
Virat Kohli was back in the thick of things because it was he who took Jonny Bairstowâs catch in the slips to provide India with the much-needed breakthrough. Virat Kohli was seen blowing kisses after the England batterâs departure.
Jonny Bairstow brought up his ton in 119 balls, which featured 14 fours and two huge sixes. It was the 32-year-oldâs fifth hundred of the year.
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