Indian star Virat Kohli is usually a ball of fire on the field. Especially during his time as India’s captain, Kohli had earned a reputation for wearing his heart on his sleeve and approaching every game with an aggressive but fair demeanor. However, Kohli experienced a contrasting side on the third day of the first Test between India and New Zealand on Friday. After Rachin Ravindra was eliminated, the entire team stood up in celebration. However, commentators Harsha Bhogle and Ian Smith noted that Kohli had kept his celebrations muted.

In the 89th over of New Zealand’s innings, Ravindra was caught by the bowling of Mohammed Siraj. Not only did the entire Indian team celebrate, referee Michael Gough also celebrated it convincingly.

However, after a hesitant check, replays showed that the ball had not actually touched Ravindra’s bat, but instead a separate sound was heard. Hence Ravindra survived.

At the time, former batsman-turned-commentator Ian Smith pointed out that, on the face of it, Kohli had not celebrated at all throughout the proceedings. Replays confirmed that Kohli had not, in fact, celebrated.

Fellow commentator Harsha Bhogle then referred to Virat Kohli as the “topper” on the list of “most expressive people in the world”, perhaps suggesting that Kohli’s muted reaction might have suggested it wasn’t getting out.

India vs New Zealand, 1st Test Day 3: How it happened

While India showed a much stronger batting effort compared to the first innings, they suffered a major blow right at the end of Day 3 play. Virat Kohli, who was batting on 70, fell behind on the last ball of the day.

India ended Day 3 at 231/3, still trailing New Zealand by a huge lead of 125 runs. Sarfaraz Khan remained unbeaten at the end of the day.