‘Find better ways to hype..’: Indian fans hit back as England’s Barmy Army target Virat Kohli in ‘Ashes’ tweet

During Day 2 of the first Ashes Test, the Barmy Army was in full voice, cheering on their favorite home players and taunting the Australians. Despite England’s extraordinary declaration on 393/8 at the end of the first day, they kept the pressure on Australia. The Barmy Army’s presence was felt not only in the stadium but also on social media.

On the online platform, the Barmy Army’s banter was not limited to the Australians. They even tweeted to commemorate Moeen Ali’s first over of the match. Moeen had come out of retirement to play in the Ashes this year, and the Barmy Army celebrated his return with a GIF of him getting former India captain Virat Kohli out in a Test match. The tweet read, “Mo back with the red ball in hand.”

Although many fans found the tweet’s tongue-in-cheek nature amusing, it was not well-received by everyone. 

Mo back with the red ball in hand #Ashes pic.twitter.com/IF9g555Gp9
— England’s Barmy Army  (@TheBarmyArmy) June 17, 2023

The GIF featured in the tweet was taken from the second Test of England’s tour of India in 2021 at the Chepauk Stadium. During the match, Moeen Ali managed to dismiss Virat Kohli, who was the captain of the Indian team at the time, for a five-ball duck. Despite Rohit Sharma’s impressive 161, India managed to score 329 runs in their first innings, while England were all out for just 134. In their second innings, India was boosted by Ravichandran Ashwin’s century, setting a target of 482 for England to chase. However, England fell short, folding for just 164 runs, and India won by a whopping 317 runs.

Moeen Ali had come out of retirement after Jack Leach, England’s primary spinner, was unable to play due to an injury. During the match, Moeen scored 18 runs off 17 balls and bowled 29 overs, taking two wickets and conceding 129 runs. 

Although England was initially in control, Australia managed to make a comeback thanks to an unbeaten 91-run partnership between Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey. The two batters saw Australia through to stumps, trailing England by just 82 runs after being 148/4 at one point. Khawaja will begin Day 3 on 126 off 279 balls, having scored his 15th Test century and his first in England. Carey, on the other hand, has scored 52 off 80 balls.

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