Kohli loses sledge war
VIRAT Kohli has been left red-faced after demeaning captain Tim Paine and trying to paint him as the antagonist in an explosive Test match.
Nathan Lyon spun Kohli out to hurtle Australia towards a pulsating series-equalling victory in Perth and once the king had fallen, Paine delivered the most cutting sledge of the series to Indian opener Murali Vijay.
“I know he’s your captain, but you can’t seriously like him as a bloke,” said Paine of Kohli.
Next over, Vijay also folded to Lyon and the scene was set for a Boxing Day blockbuster at the MCG.
The Indian captain was back to his old tricks as he mischievously tattled on Paine to the umpires and at another point changed his line to almost invite a physical confrontation with his counterpart at the end of the pitch.
It is understood he tried to bait Paine by boastfully referring to himself as “the best player in the world” and by mocking the Australian’s standing as a skipper.
Going into the final burst of day four, Australia had India 4-64 after Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Lyon went for the throat after they had set the tourists a daunting 287-run target on a wild pitch.
In Australia’s second innings of 243 — anchored by Usman Khawaja’s 72 and a 36run final-run stand between Starc and Hazlewood — Kohli and Paine resumed hostilities.
Paine was at one point picked up by the stump microphone saying “You’re the one that lost it yesterday, that’s why you’re trying to be cool today”, in reference to Kohli’s dummy-spit on day three.
Umpire Chris Gaffaney intervened and scolded them and told them to remember their responsibilities. “You’re the captains!” Gaffaney said.
Paine unsuccessfully tried to argue the conversation was fine because there was no swearing, before he got in one last quip over the umpire’s shoulder, saying: “Keep your cool, Virat.”
The over finished with Kohli planting himself at the end of the pitch where he knew Paine was going to complete a single and the Australian captain had to pull himself up on a sixpence to avoid contact.
Recently departed Australian coach Darren Lehmann declared on Macquarie Radio: “If he got in my line and I’m running for a single, I’m running straight through him.”
Bristling former Test great Mitchell Johnson revealed that Australian players told him on the ground at lunch that Kohli had been busy ‘dobbing’ to the teacher.
“I was just speaking to a couple of the boys and Virat was going to the umpire and telling the umpire that ‘Tim Paine is talking to me, can you tell him to stop’,” Johnson told Fox Cricket.
“Which I found quite interesting after what happened yesterday.”
Paine and Kohli had come from the field on the night of day three going at each other after a last-over slanging match where the Australian skipper labelled the Indian master a “big head”.
When Paine’s stoic matchdefining knock of 37 ultimately came to an end thanks to a climbing bouncer from sixwicket star Mohammed Shami, he kept turning back as he walked from the field — suggesting he was copping a royal send-off from Kohli and the Indians.
Nothing Kohli said to the Australians was picked up by stump-microphones but it is understood he was hurling abuse at them in Hindi on day three and also appeared to give a rocket to an Indian official as he came from the field.
When Kohli came to the crease as India’s last hope, Lyon and substitute fielder Mitchell Marsh made a hostile guard of honour for him to pass through on the edge of the square before Josh Hazlewood slammed down a first-up bouncer.