He was snapping, snarling, batting brilliantly, whipping up the crowd and remonstrating with the umpires as only an Indian captain can. It is fair to say the real Virat Kohli stood up as his side bulldozed their way towards a crushing second Test victory.
What a contrast to the smiling, sportsmanlike figure who helped Joe Root recover from cramp as he batted India to defeat in the first Test. No more Mr Nice Guy now, not with a series against England and his own reputation on the line.
Clearly Kohli’s attempt to replicate the calm captaincy style of his successful stand-in Ajinkya Rahane didn’t suit him. He is much more at home when he is leading India aggressively and pushing the boundaries of acceptable behaviour to their limits.
Virat Kohli on the charge as he battles to 62 in India’s second innings on day three
The full Kohli, warts and all, was on display in Chennai on a third day when India rubbed England’s noses into the dirt of the controversial second Test pitch that, it is said, the captain demanded after that shock defeat.
There was high-quality batting from one of the best in the world in the company of local hero Ravichandran Ashwin as India recovered from losing four wickets in the first hour to show England how it should be done on what remains a minefield of a surface.
There was the animated Kohli, waving his arms and encouraging a raucous atmosphere in a 10,000 crowd at Chepauk that, refreshing to see at it was, was far from socially distanced and seemingly lacking masks.
And there was the less savoury side of Kohli as he clashed three times with umpire Nitin Menon, the only Indian on the ICC’s elite panel, and showed dissent that really should bring a large fine at the end of this Test. Don’t hold your breath on that one.
Kohli looks a more commanding presence in the second Test after losing big last time out
First Kohli exchanged words with Menon when he was rightly warned for running right across the pitch during a stand of 96 with Ashwin that ended any remote hopes England had of even making a fist of what will surely be a thrashing.
Then there was that look of angry bemusement on Kohli’s face that was seen even when he was clean bowled in the first innings as Menon gave him out, marginally, lbw on 62 to be dismissed for the second time in the Test by Moeen Ali.
Finally, Kohli was joined by his coach Ravi Shastri in arguing with Nitin after Root was somehow reprieved just before the close by technology, umpire’s call on impact, after Menon had turned down what had seemed to be an Indian appeal for caught behind.
Yes, by all cricketing logic, Root was out lbw but that does not excuse unacceptable behaviour by Kohli. Yet such is the power wielded by the captain of India that it would be a huge surprise if match referee Javagal Srinath as much as slapped his wrist.
Kohli helped opposite number Joe Root with cramp in the first Test, as Root scored 218
Not that Kohli’s indiscipline should overshadow what has been a fiercely commanding performance from an India side who have bounced back just as emphatically here as when they won 2-1 in Australia after being bowled out for 36 in the first Test.
Not least from another spiky character in Ashwin, who became the first all-rounder since Garry Sobers in 1966 to make a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same Test against England. And he did it on his home ground, too.
There can be no greater response to criticism about this under-prepared pitch than a second-innings century from a No 8 as India made 286 to go past 600 runs in the Test and set England a dizzying 482 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in this compelling series.
Yet, the point is, Ashwin’s fifth Test century, completed when he just had last man Mohammed Siraj for company, was all the more commendable because it was made on a pitch that remained unfit for a five-day Test.
Kohli had a number of confrontations with umpire Nitin Menon, which could see him fined
How Ashwin, Siraj, the crowd and the whole Indian team celebrated too when Ashwin smashed Moeen for a six and four in the same over before, on 99, going for a big hit and edging the boundary that took him to three figures.
What was Australian captain Tim Paine saying in Sydney earlier this year about Ashwin not being liked? ‘Even your team-mates think you’re a goose,’ said the hapless Paine. It didn’t look that way here.
To be fair to England all pressure was off India by the time Kohli and Ashwin came together so they should not be judged too harshly this time for allowing India to score at least a hundred more than they should have done on a 10th-day pitch.
There was real encouragement for England, too, in the quite brilliant wicketkeeping of Ben Foakes, who took two stumpings on his 28th birthday, engineered a clever run out and kept immaculately until he tired and missed two tough late chances.
What was Alec Stewart saying a couple of years ago about Foakes being the best keeper in the world? He is arguably as good as any English keeper in modern times, certainly the best since the unlucky James Foster played in just seven Tests.
India have left Root and England with their faces in the turf with a devastating display
If Foakes carries on like this for the rest of the series – and remember he top scored in England’s first innings too – then they will have a dilemma when Jos Buttler returns. At the very least England have the best possible man in reserve.
It was predictable that wickets would tumble when England finally replied with just over an hour of the third day left, Rory Burns falling to Ashwin and now facing an anxious wait ahead of the third Test, with Jonny Bairstow and Zak Crawley back in contention.
But somehow Root survived, much to Kohli’s chagrin, alongside Dan Lawrence, who impressed with a cameo that included two trademark wristy boundaries off Axar Patel and a straight six off Ashwin.
It will almost certainly be over on day four, and Ashwin will surely take his tally to more than 10 wickets in the Test, but England have much to play for ahead of Ahmedabad, not least Lawrence. At the very least they have to go down fighting.