IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli complains to umpire about England batsmen running in middle of the pitch

Team India lost the first Test of the four-match series against England at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The home team were given a target of 420 runs to register a victory, but they got bundled out for 192 runs only, thereby losing the contest by 227 runs.

During the game, India captain Virat Kohli looked unhappy with the way English batsmen were running on the pitch while batting in their second innings. Kohli was heard on stump mic, complaining to the umpire, Nitin Menon, on Day 4 of the match.

It all happened when Jofra Archer pushed the ball towards deep backward point for a single. Kohli, who was standing near wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, came forward and complained about the batsmen running in the middle of the pitch.

“Oye, Menon (Nitin Menon), seedhe run bhi beech me bhaag raha hai yaar (he’s even running easy runs in the middle of the pitch). Kya hai ye (What is this)?” said Kohli.

Here is the video:

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Kohli, Ashwin unhappy with SG ball

After the game, both Ravichandran Ashwin and Kohli expressed disappointment on the quality of the SG ball used for the first Test. Ashwin, who picked up 6 wickets in the second innings, termed the ball as ‘bizarre’ and said he hadn’t seen an SG ball like that in so many years.

“The ball was pretty bizarre for us because I’ve never seen an SG ball tear through the seam like that before. It could well be a combination of how hard the pitch was the first two days. Even in the second innings after the 35th-40th over, the seam started to peel off. It was quite…it was bizarre. I haven’t seen an SG ball like that in the last so many years,” said Ashwin during the virtual press conference.

Captain Kohli too seemed not happy with the ball as he mentioned it in the post-match conference that Team is not ‘pleased’ with the red leather. Kohli said the ball lost its shape after 60 overs, and that is something unusual.

“The quality of the ball, honestly as well, wasn’t something that we were very pleased to see. Because that’s been an issue in the past as well. Just for the ball’s seam to be completely destroyed in 60 overs is not something that you experience as a Test side and something that any Test side could be prepared for,” said Kohli.