Virat Kohli’s shoulder thrust and fiery antics branded as ‘theatre’ by ENG: ‘How boring it would be without the showman’

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen is loving the drama unfolding between Australia and India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Tensions have risen to an all-time high in the fourth Test in Melbourne and Virat Kohli is at the center of attention. The legendary Indian batsman first hit the headlines after he shoulder-punched 19-year-old Australian debutant Sam Konstas on the first day of the Boxing Day Test.

This incident resulted in Kohli being deducted 20 percent of his match fees. In addition, he received a demerit point from the ICC. The 36-year-old, who was dubbed the “King” when India landed Down Under in November, quickly became a villain for the Australian media when they made headlines labeling the former India captain a “clown”.

However, Pietersen loves everything Kohli does on the field and says the game would be boring without the ‘showman’. Without mincing words, Pietersen also stated that other cricketers would end their careers if they achieved even a quarter of what Virat Kohli achieved.

“Virat creates theater Down Under! Let’s go! Imagine how boring it would be without the showman! And he has earned EVERYTHING from his performances throughout his career,” wrote Kevin Pietersen on X (formerly Twitter).

“Many would end their successful international career having achieved a quarter of what he achieved,” he added.

Melbourne crowd boos Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli seemed to be in his zone when he came out to bat on the second day of the fourth Test against Australia. The right-hander made a conscious decision to leave the shots bowled outside the off-stump alone. He also formed a 102-run stand with opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal.

However, a terrible mix-up in the middle between Kohli and Jaiswal saw the latter return to the hut after scoring 82. Kohli fished outside the off-stump soon after and lost his wicket to Scott Boland.

After he was dismissed for 36, the Melbourne crowd booed Virat Kohli mercilessly. At some point, Kohli was touched by a comment from an Australian spectator.

Kohli entered the tunnel area of ​​the MCG, turned around and walked back towards the spectator. The official then entered and asked Kohli to move on. He put an arm around the 36-year-old’s shoulder to calm the situation.

At stumps on the second day, India’s score was 164/5 with Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja at the wicket. The visitors are still 310 runs behind after Australia scored 474 runs in the first innings.