CRUDE KOHLI GRABS GLORY
Stand-in captain brushed aside as Virat attacks beaten Aussies
VIRAT Kohli last night saved his biggest disgrace for last as he pushed India’s victorious captain off centre stage and bitterly declared his “friendship” with Australian players dead forever.
Despite being injured and not playing in the fourth Test, Kohli donned the whites as soon as champagne corks were popping and in an extraordinary display of selfishness strode into the post-match press conference instead of series-winning captain Ajinkya Rahane to claim the glory.
Earlier in the series Kohli cast himself as the Donald Trump of world sport by branding the Australians systematic cheats and refusing to provide any evidence of his outrageous and damaging claims.
Last night he only reinforced his reputation as an egomaniac as he tried to write Rahane out of the history books and virtually accuse Australia of being responsible for the ugly breakdown in relations this tour. In contrast Steve Smith humbly apologised for emotions getting the better of him this series when he misused DRS in Bangalore and was caught mouthing “f--ing cheat” at Murali Vijay in Dharamsala.
Kohli’s pre-tour claims that he had friends in the Australian dressing room were tenu- ous in the first place, but last night he declined the opportunity to sign off as a gracious winner and instead wrote Smith and his team off as sworn enemies.
“No, it has changed,” Kohli said of his relationship with the Australians. “I thought that was the case [we were friends], but it has changed for sure.
“As I said, in the heat of the battle you want to be competitive but I’ve been proven wrong. The thing I said before the first Test, that has certainly changed and you won’t hear me say that ever again.”
The Australians’ respect for Kohli has nosedived this series.
In Bangalore they were filthy at his “cheat” accusations, but they were just as be- mused at the captain racing to snare himself a commemorative stump instead of celebrating the win with teammates.
Kohli, who averaged 9.2 for the series, blew a gasket after getting out in the second Test and smashed a Gatorade bottle so hard in anger it struck an Australian team official.
In Ranchi, he raised eyebrows in the Australian camp again when he stayed off the field for two days before returning when he sensed victory was on the horizon.
Yesterday his true colours were revealed again, when unfit to play in the match, he stole the limelight from Rahane, in the most glorious moment of his teammate’s career.
The respect Australia exhibited for Rahane yesterday was leagues away from their silent contempt for Kohli.