Unlike Trent Boult, his trusted accomplice, Tim Southee hardly does theatre. Boult, in his follow-through, is almost within a touching distance of the batsman; he appeals vociferously, celebrates wickets with vein-popping fist-pumps. Contrastingly, Southee’s follow-through is standard, his appeals are apologetic and celebrations not over the board.
Like when he nailed Virat Kohli in front of the wicket with a supreme exhibition of cerebral bowling. The appeal was a quiet query, the celebrations that followed were not frantic. A sheepish grin, handshakes, and reluctant hugs. As Boult himself put it cheekily: “He needs to take a course on celebrating wickets from me.”
Perhaps, he didn’t animatedly celebrate Kohli’s dismissal because he has gotten so accustomed to dismissing one of the most-prized scalps in the world that it has ceased to excite him. A certain kind of boredom has set in. With the latest instance, he has ejected him 10 times across formats, the most success any bowler has enjoyed against the Indian skipper. Thrice in Tests, six times in ODIs and once in T20Is. So much so that he could legitimately claim that he’s Kohli’s kryptonite, he could rightfully brag that he knows how to outwit Kohli.
Southee-Kohli showdowns are not as much as about raw thrill as it’s about the battle of wits. Southee trying to fasten the noose around his neck while the latter trying to wriggle out of it.