Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma
You just can't keep Virat Kohli out of the game. The Indian skipper was back to his old self again, giving animated send-offs to New Zealand batsmen as Mohammed Shami's twin strikes brought India back in the game on Day 5 of the rain-hit World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Shami first dismissed Ross Taylor with a fuller length delivery, tempting the Kiwi batsman to go for a drive. Shubman Gill took a brilliant diving catch at short cover to hand New Zealand the first blow of the day.
Ishant Sharma also chipped in with Henry Nicholls' wicket. Fishing outside off against the lanky pacer's pace proved costly for Nicholls as he was caught at second slip by Rohit Sharma.
Shami struck again in his next over by dismissing BJ Watling with a peach of a delivery. The Indian pacer clipped the off-bail as New Zealand were suddenly reeling at 135 for 5 at Ageas Bowl, Southampton.
While the Shami-Ishant duo was working in tandem under English conditions, skipper Kohli was on cloud nine after the fall of each wicket. A fired-up Kohli quickly became a huge talking point on Twitter.
In an interview with India TV, Shami himself had said that Kohli's aggression helps immensely in the positive environment of the dressing room. The pacer had also shared one of the recurring jokes between him and Kohli.
"Fast bowlers are very aggressive, both old and new. But the one player who could probably emulate their aggression is our own captain! Sometimes, when a picture of Virat's celebration of a wicket goes viral on social media, I funnily ask him, "Was it my wicket or yours?" Shami had said.
"He celebrates more than the bowlers! Sometimes he points out that you don't look too happy with the wicket, so I simply tell him, "You did all the celebration for me!
"But it is important to have fun on the field. Virat shows aggression, obviously, but as a unit, he has led the team brilliantly so far. In addition, he is a very aggressive batsman too."
