Has Virat Kohli’s mic drop celebration at Edgbaston set the tone for a feisty series?

Kohli celebrated Root's wicket by blowing a kiss, raising a finger to his lips and then dropping an imaginary mic … with a couple chaste Hindi words for effect.

On Wednesday, India captain Virat Kohli  sent his opposite number Joe Root packing with a terrific pick-and-throw and followed it up with a ‘mic drop’ celebration as his team took charge of the opening day of the Edgbaston Test.

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The reference, for the uninitiated, was Root’s own ‘mic drop’ celebration last month as soon as he raised his 13th ODI century to seal England’s 2-1 win. The image from Headingley of Root dropping his bat from his right hand in a theatrical celebration known as a ‘mic drop’, with a solemn Kohli in the immediate backdrop, had promised to become a reference point as an engaging summer shifted into more serious business.

WATCH: Virat Kohli celebrates Joe Root’s dismissal with mic-drop gesture

That ODI loss dealt Kohli his first bilateral series loss as captain, and whether or not he would remember Root’s bold ‘statement’ during the five-Test series was an obvious question.

Sure enough, as soon as Kohli realised that his brilliant throw from midwicket had run out Root for 80, and the England batsman kept walking for the pavilion, there was no need for an invitation to rub it in a bit more.

Talking Points: Kohli’s send-off to Root, Ashwin’s web and more 

Kohli celebrated the wicket by blowing a kiss, raising a finger to his lips and then dropping an imaginary mic … with a couple chaste Hindi words for effect. It remains to be seen whether or not Kohli escapes punished for his foul-mouthed celebration, though England batsman Keaton Jennings sought to play down the incident by saying: “Everybody is entitled to celebrate how they want to. That’s how he celebrated and that’s cool”.

Under Kohli, India have rarely shied away from engaging in verbal banter with opponents on the field, dating back to the first time he led the team in Australia in 2014-15. The Indian skipper has wound up England in the past, and Wednesday’s ‘mic drop’ moment may have added an edge to what is already a fascinating contest between two exciting Test teams.

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