Published 17:30 IST, August 20th 2020
Virat Kohli did NOT intimidate me in 2019 'Notebook' battle in India: Kesrick Williams
West Indies bowler Kesrick Williams recently opened up about the 'Notebook' celebration and Virat Kohli, saying that the Indian captain did not intimidate him.
One of the most iconic moments from West Indies’ tour of India in 2019 was the match-up between Virat Kohli and Kesrick Williams. Cricket fans all over the world got to see the Kohli Williams fight after the Indian captain performed the famous ‘Notebook’ celebration during the game. After the incident, both the cricketers spoke to the media about the incident. Now Kesrick Williams has once against spoken about the infamous battle.
Kohli Williams fight explained
It all began in 2017 when Kesrick Williams dismissed Virat Kohli during a T20I in Jamaica. After dismissing the batsman, Kesrick Williams decided to give a send-off to Virat Kohli, using his famous ‘Notebook' celebration. However, Virat Kohli got his revenge a couple of years after, when West Indies toured India in 2019. Chasing a mammoth 208 in the first T20I, Virat Kohli got the better of Kesrick Williams as his unbeaten 94 powered India to victory. Kesrick Williams conceded 60 runs in the game, with Virat Kohli dishing out the famous ‘Notebook’ celebration, using his bat as a notebook to seemingly ‘tick’ the bowler’s name off.
After the match, Kohli said that he had remembered the instance from the match in Jamaica. While concluding, he said that there’s no animosity between the two, as he believes one should play hard but respect the opponent as well. However, the first match didn’t signal the end of the feud between the two. After Kesrick Williams managed to dismiss Virat Kohli in the second match, instead of using his famous celebration, he resorted to keeping his finger to his mouth as he celebrated the scalp.
Kesrick Williams opens up on ‘Notebook’ incident
Kesrick Williams is currently playing in the CPL 2020 and is one of the senior-most bowlers at the St Lucia Zouks. Recently, the fast bowler opened up about his relationship with Virat Kohli and what exactly happened during the ‘Notebook incident’. Speaking to International Cricket Network 360, he explained that while Virat Kohli was saying something to him every time he bowled, he retorted that the Indian skipper was sounding like a child and should rather focus on his batting. Talking about Kohli’s ‘Notebook’ celebration, Kesrick Williams claimed that he didn’t see the gesture as intimidation.
Referring to the series, Kesrick Williams admitted that while Virat Kohli’s plan worked in the first innings and the batsman managed to get inside his head, in the second match the bowler got the better of him. While concluding about the encounter, he said that he wouldn’t call the Kohli Williams fight as intimidation, referring to the RCB captain as the best batsman in the world.
Image Courtesy: AP
Updated 17:31 IST, August 20th 2020