This snake can sting from all sides: Virat
BANGALORE: Australia spinner Nathan Lyon’s ‘snake’s head’ jibe came back to bite him on Tuesday. India skipper Virat Kohli, who was the target of that comment, indicated the home team had followed every media remark by past and present Aussie players. Lyon returned with figures of 8/50 on the first day to send India crashing to 189 all out. His haul included the wicket of Kohli for 12. The dismissal came after Kohli was out for nought and 13 in the first Test in Pune, which the Aussies won by 333 runs. Lyon said after his haul: “Virat is the head of the snake, to put it in Dale Steyn’s terms, and if you can take that, the body will fall away. It was pretty pleasing to take Virat’s wicket.” The Indian skipper retorted on Tuesday. “It was a quite an emotional game for us, quite draining as well. Everyone got along together, we showed team spirit. A lot of people were talking about the head of the snake, but I think the snake did pretty well by itself, so it’s not just about one individual.
“I’m pretty happy if they keep focusing on the head of the snake, the snake can sting from a lot of directions. I think some people need to keep that in mind.
“I told everyone, it’s an opportunity. Let the pressure come, I have no problem. They basically played into our hands.”
Kohli also hit out at former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy who criticised the India skipper for clashing with Smith. Healy said he had ‘lost respect’ for the India captain.
On Tuesday, Kohli retorted, “[I’ll lose respect] in his eyes? We’ve got 1.2 billion people in India. One person doesn’t make a difference to my life. I heard he said something about me – I think you all should see a YouTube video and that says it all.”
The video of the incident during a 1997 Test at Centurion, which South Africa won by eight wickets, shows an infuriated Healy walking off after being given caught behind down the leg side. Healy points the bat like a gun at a spectator and then throws the bat as he walks up to the dressing room, yelling ‘bu.. sh.. umpiring’. Healy got a two-match suspension.