Aussies no longer friends, says Kohli after India thrash the Baggy Greens
INDIAN skipper Virat Kohli said he no longer considered Australian cricketers as friends after winning a tense Test series marked by bad blood in Dharamsala yesterday.
India thrashed Australia by eight wickets yesterday to seal a Test series marked by outbursts and controversies 2-1 and underline their status as the world’s No1 side.
Chasing 106 on the penultimate day of the fourth Test, opener Lokesh Rahul hit 51 not out in Dharamsala as India seized back the BorderGavaskar trophy from Australia.
India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane (38 not out) hit two sixes in a row off Pat Cummins en route to the comprehensive win, as fans waved India flags and danced in the stands.
India have now won seven Test series win in a row, a run that kicked off with their triumph in Sri Lanka in 2015, and includes victories over New Zealand, England and Bangladesh in an extended home season.
Kohli, who remarked before the series that he was “really good friends” with some Australian players, said things had changed during the bitter contest between the world’s top two sides.
“I thought that was the case but it has changed for sure. As I said in the heat of the battle, you want to be competitive. But yeah I have been proven wrong,” he said in a postmatch press conference.
“The thing I said before the first Test [about being friends], I have certainly been proven wrong, and you won’t hear me say that ever again.”
The 28-year-old skipper caused a furore in the second Test after ac- cusing his counterpart Steven Smith of repeatedly abusing the decision review system.
Critics questioned Kohli’s conduct under pressure, and also his form in the series, with the right-hander scoring just 46 runs from five innings.
Tensions were exacerbated after the Indian captain was dubbed “the Donald Trump of sport” in an Australian newspaper, and former Test bowler Geoff Lawson accused him of acting like “your worst behaved player”.
A combative Kohli hit back at his critics, inviting his detractors to say or write what they feel about him.
“A very wise person told me that when a person is down, the weak come out to speak about him. It takes courage to talk about someone when they are on top,” he said.
“It is fine, I was targeted individually, and I haven’t done well in this series so opportunities galore for everyone to come out and speak about me which is fine.
“[It is] very easy to sit at home and write a blog or speak behind a mic, I think that’s easier than coming out and competing in the field.”
The rancour between the sides was inflamed in the drawn third Test in Ranchi when Glenn Maxwell was pictured mocking Kohli’s shoulder injury.
The animosity then spilled over into the series-decider with Ravindra Jadeja and Aussie wicketkeeper Matthew Wade engaging in a verbal fight Monday that was caught by stump microphones.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India posted the footage, complete with stump microphone recordings, on its website and social media channels.
India’s Murali Vijay then found himself at the centre of a fresh controversy after claiming a catch that replays showed had spilled onto the grass.
Smith apologises
TV footage caught Smith fuming angrily in the dressing room and appearing to call Vijay a “f— cheat”.
The Aussie skipper apologised for his outburst but expressed disappointment that the on-field spat between Wade and Jadeja was made public by the BCCI.
“I have been pretty intense throughout this series. I really wanted to do well for the team. At times I have been in my own bubble and have let my emotions slip. I apologise for that,” Smith said.
“I was a little bit disappointed that the BCCI sieved through the archive to find a conversation out on the field that was happening between Matty [ Wade] and Jadeja.
“It’s happened between both sides throughout this series, so the fact they’ve done that to us is a little bit disappointing. Usually what’s said on the field should stay on the field.”
In the maiden Test played in Dharamsala, India scored 332 in their first innings in reply to Australia’s 300, before the tourists collapsed for just 137 on the third day.
On day four, India lost Vijay to fast bowler Cummins and Cheteshwar Pujara to a run out, but they were the only scares for the hosts who reached their target in less than 24 overs.
India owed their win to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who top-scored with 63 runs in the first innings before taking three wickets with his left-arm spin during Australia’s second knock – to be named man of the match and man of the series.