'Barrage of abuse': Ex-England man slams 'foul-mouthed' Virat Kohli
Indian captain Virat Kohli has been called out for criticism after his side's fiery second Test win against England at Lord's.
England captain Joe Root admitted his leadership was found wanting under pressure after his side's 151-run loss to India.
Root hit an unbeaten 180 in the first innings to keep his side alive but an inspired batting display from the tourists that included a game-changing unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 89 from tailenders Mohammed Shami (56 not out) and Jasprit Bumrah (34 not out) swung the match in India's favour.
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The home side then collapsed with the bat to be ball out for 120 with 8.1 overs left on the final day as India took a 1-0 series lead.
The match was a prickly affair at times, with England fast bowler James Anderson and Kohli engaging in a fierce war of words that was picked up by stump cam and has since spread across the internet.
Kohli could be heard firing up at Anderson after the fast bowler allegedly called him a “f***ing pr**k”.
The Indian skipper could be heard responding: “You calling me ‘f***ing pr**k’ for running? Huh? This ain’t your f***ing backyard.”
Anderson shot something back at Kohli who responded by saying: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chirp, chirp, chirp. This is what old age makes you.”
On day five when Anderson became the last wicket to fall for England and the tourists celebrated a famous win, Kohli was the first man to go over and shake the paceman's hand, in a sign that there was no hard feelings between the pair.
However, former England batsman Nick Compton was less than impressed with Kohli over the incident, taking to social media to condemned the India captain.
Compton played against Kohli in a four-Test series back in 2012, and the 38-year-old obviously still harbours a level of disdain for the combative India star.
“Isn’t Kohli the most foul mouthed individual,” Compton wrote in a since-deleted post.
“I’ll never forget the barrage of abuse I received in 2012 when the swearing stunned me to the point that he did himself a serious disservice. It highlights what a level headed and grounded man Root, Tendulkar, Williamson et al are.”
Compton's criticism was inevitably pounced upon by cricket fans who were quick to point out England's own history of foul-mouthed incidents.
Two England players found themselves at the centre of similar controversies during last year's Test series against South Africa, with Ben Stokes forced to apologise after calling a spectator a “f***ing four-eyed c***”.
England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler was also condemned for mocking Vernon Philander's weight and could be heard calling the South African bowler a “f***ing k***head”.
Virat Kohli says niggle motivated his side
Kohli was quick to brush the hostility aside after the second Test and admitted that the niggle was a motivating factor behind his side's win.
“What happened at the end of our second innings with the bowlers, that bit of tension really helped us and charged us up and motivated us to finish this game off,” Kohli said.
“It takes a lot of character to bat like that under pressure, as bowlers who don‘t often bat, and they then charged out and took the new ball and got us two breakthroughs as well, which was crucial for us.
“When we were at our most successful in Test cricket for a year and a half, our lower order was always contributing and that‘s something we went away from a little bit when we went away from home.
“So that was one of our focuses, the batting coaches really worked hard with the boys and when they’re walking out to bat, they believe they can stay there and get runs for the team.
“I think that belief was missing but now they have the desire to stay there and do the job for the team and we know how priceless those runs are. That proved to be the case today.”
India leads the best-of-five Test series 1-0 with the third Test getting underway at Headingley on Wednesday week.
with AAP
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