The India captain was particularly animated upon the New Zealand skipper being dismissed on day two but dodged the subject in the post-Test press conference
India captain Virat Kohli unleashed an angry response to a question regarding the send-off he gave New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on day two of the second Test in Christchurch
Williamson was dismissed for just three in the Kiwi first innings, edging through to Rishabh Pant off Jasprit Bumrah.
Kohli was visibly animated following the wicket, shouting towards Williamson, however, the exact language used was not picked up by microphones or TV cameras.
After New Zealand completed a seven-wicket win on day three at Hagley Oval, which confirmed a 2-0 series win, Kohli was asked about the episode which has not been acted upon by the match officials.
But instead of confronting the issue, the No.2 batsman in the ICC Test rankings dodged a question from a local journalist and was unhappy with suggestions his on-field behaviour has to improve.
"What do you think? I am asking you the answer," he said following the query.
"You need to find out exactly what happened and come up 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 spoke with the match referee (Ranjan Madugalle) and he had no issues with what happened. Thank you."
The incident followed Kohli winning the ICC spirit of cricket award for asking fans not to boo Australia's Steve Smith during the World Cup last year.
Williamson refused to condemn Kohli's behaviour despite being the victim of the angry attack.
"It is Virat and he is passionate on the field," he said. "I don't think we need to read too much into it."
Posted by David Rimmer on 02/03/2020 at 23:37
Virat Kohli does not come well out of this. Normally he takes defeat well but he would have been acutely conscious of how badly his team played _ he has let his anger get the better of him. To be beaten in around half the playing time is embarrassing. I am writing this at a time when I would have preferred watching the opening two hours of the fourth day _ as a neutral I feel CHEATED and I am sure most Indian fans do as well. New Zealand will be thrilled to win the series but the bigger picture is this match was a bad advert for Test Cricket. Only a little more than 200 overs were needed to settle it _ that is NOT good enough. Commentator and ex-Kiwi keeper Ian Smith rightly lauded the NZ bowlers saying they have done brilliantly to overcome a powerful batting line-up. I disagree _ India looked lost in bowler friendly conditions. I would say it is a vulnerable line-up and although Rahane averages above 40 in Test Cricket, it is too reliant on Kohli and Pujara. These two did brilliantly in Australia 13 and 14 months ago but did little in this series and India were found wanting with a long tail. On paper, India's attack is strong but too often they let the tail of an opposition score too many and this happened again. in England in 2018, they let England's lower order score too many runs in tight situations. India were thwarted by NZ newcomer Jamieson whose proficiency with the bat will surely see him promoted above Southee in the not too distant future. With his height, Jamieson also derives awkward bounce for the batsman to combat.
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