Virat Kohli is one of the most entertaining cricketers ever. He is a free spirit, who lets his gestures do the talking. Talking of one such incident, no fan can ever forget the famous Virat Kohli vs Kesrick Williams battle that took place during the T20I series between India and the West Indies in 2019.
It was the 16th over of the first T20I game when the skipper Kieron Pollard handed over the balling responsibility to Kesrick Williams. On the first ball itself, Kieron missed his mark slightly and was smashed by Kohli straight down the ground to a beautiful boundary. Soon after pulling this boundary, Virat Kohli mocked the West Indies bowler and entertained the fans.
Well, in 2017, Kesrick Williams had given Virat Kohli a ‘notebook-style’ send-off after taking his wicket. Seems like it was one of the things King Kohli could not forget.
Later in the 2nd T20I, Kesrick Williams dismissed Virat Kohli but instead of telling anything to Virat Kohli or mocking him, Kesrick Williams asked his teammates to remain silent.
Recently, in an interview, Kesrick Williams talked about many things. He also talked about the famous Kohli vs Williams battle that took everyone by surprise. Narrating the whole incident, Kesrick Williams said:
“In the first game, when Kohli walked in to bat, he walked straight to me and he was like ‘Hey, you got me in Jamaica the last time you bowled against me, it’s not going to happen here’. I was like this thing happened in 2017, this is 2019, this guy really studied this thing? I was like I can’t believe this guy.
So I bowled a ball, someone tucked it on to the leg side and I was running for the ball but he was running for a single and I almost butt on him so I stopped and let him pass, and then he looked at the umpire and was like ‘what’s going on?’, I am like mate, I am sorry I didn’t spitefully do it, I didn’t try to run into you. And from there he started. He started saying stuff that I really don’t want to repeat. He started saying all sorts (of things), I am like ‘Yo mate, can you just back (off)’. I was walking back and he was at the non-striker’s end and he’s like ‘This is not going to happen today, I am not going to make you get me out today, never, never you are going to get me out today’. I am like, ‘mate, can you just zip your mouth and bat? Just bat, just play the game and please leave me alone’. And he said some stuff.
He finished the game and wrote me up in his notebook, I don’t know what notebook he had but he wrote me up in it and got on with his antics. He won the game, fair enough. When we left, Hyderabad for Kerala, I was in the economy class and he was in the business class, he is looking back, watching me and smiling and he’s making a gesture. I am like ‘Yo, I’m going to dismiss you in the next game like for real’. I said, ‘the next game it’s going to be me and you’. Because I had him in my mind now. I am like you are not going to beat me again, never in cricket. This is not going to happen again.”
He then revealed what happened in the T20I match, when he was able to dismiss Virat Kohli, he revealed:
“In the second game, I was on the fine leg boundary and he’s sitting there, just staring at me and was like ‘Kesericcccc’. I mean obviously he beat me in the last game so he can do what he wants, he is on top…’Kesriccc’ (he went again), I am like I can’t wait for this guy to come and bat. A wicket falls and I am like I am really ready for this guy to come in because I want to get this guy out so badly tonight. I am confident enough that I will get him out.
When he came to bat, he didn’t say much to me. And I got him out. And I could remember he did a celebration in a Test series where he pinned his lip. And when I dismissed him, the whole crowd went silent and I just told the guys, ‘Relax, let’s keep it silent and let’s just applaud the legend and let him go off. It’s fine. He’s gone. Let him go’. I just pinned my lip and walked back. No celebrations for him. I don’t want to celebrate. Let him go.”
Kesrick was asked about whether it is tough to bowl to Kohli, responding to which, he said:
“Tough to bowl to Kohli? No, it’s not. When he gets going, he’s a talented player. He’s a great player but I am not worried about Kohli. I don’t go to bed at night and am like ‘ohhh it’s Kohli’! No.”
When asked about whether he is looking forward to the Kohli battle ahead, he responded in a big yes. He said:
“Definitely, I am looking forward to it. I know whenever he sees me, he’s going to be pumped and be like ‘Yo, I am going to beat him’. But mate, at the end of the day, cricket is cricket. It takes one ball to get him out. And I will get that one ball again.”
He was further asked about would he come up with a new celebration if he gets Virat Kohli. He said:
“You better count on that. I like playing against Kohli, he is a very aggressive guy. And I love playing against aggressive guys because it brings out the best in me. As I said, that guy is a talented player. I know when he sees me again, whenever, if I ever play against India, it’s going to bring out the best in him and the best in me.”
