IND vs ENG 2021: Virat Kohli gifts his spikes to a young kid

Virat Kohli gifted his spikes to a young kid ahead of the first Test against England
Virat Kohli gifted his spikes to a young kid ahead of the first Test against England

It was all smiles for young Lucas Burns after he received a pair of spikes from Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

The news piece did the rounds on Twitter with a picture of the kids posing with the spikes. A tweet from a fan, Robert Burns, read:

"Thank you from Lucas Burns @imVkohli you have made an excited boy very happy!! Spikes from the nicest global superstar! @MacclesfieldCC @kingsmaccricket"

You can view the post here:


Virat Kohli loses toss, but India ahead in first session

Virat Kohli lost the toss at Trent Bridge but India were ahead with the ball as they bagged the wickets of Rory Burns and Zak Crawley.

Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Rory Burns in his first over. At the time of writing, Mohammed Siraj had bowled six overs, giving away 22 runs and grabbing a wicket.

After Burns fell without moving the scoreboard, opener Dom Sibley and Crawley steadied the ship with a 42-run stand before the latter nicked one to Rishabh Pant off Siraj. Crawley's knock (27 off 68) was steady and composed as he withstood some brilliant spells by Mohammed Shami.

Crawley stroked four crisp boundaries, while Sibley was happy to leave a good portion of his deliveries and nudge it around. England ended the session with the scoreboard reading 61/2 after 25 overs. Sibley and skipper Joe Root will take to the crease at the start of the second session.

Earlier, Indian skipper Virat Kohli copped some criticism for leaving Ravichandran Ashwin out of the playing XI.

The decision came as a shock given Ashwin's recent commendable overseas exploits. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner also had a decent outing for Surrey in a County Championship game prior to the series.

Several ex-cricketers were baffled by Virat Kohli's decision, with VVS Laxman leading the charge. Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Laxman said:

"For me, if you're picking a bowler who is going to bat at No. 8, I would go for a bowler who could give match-winning performances with the ball and for me that would be R Ashwin. So, I would have gone with the balance that India had in the WTC final."

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