Captains in war of words as Australia hit back
AUSTRALIA captain Tim Paine became embroiled in a sledging spat with India counterpart Virat Kohli on the fourth day of the second Test in Perth.
Paine pledged to tone down any words on the field following his appointment as captain, in an attempt to clean up the Australian team’s image and win back the public’s support after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa earlier this year.
Kohli had also indicated before the series that he would only take part in sledging if Australia started it.
But those views soon went out the window as the pair clashed in the middle, having first exchanged words the previous evening.
Umpire Chris Gaffaney was forced to intervene during the morning session, stepping in to come between the two players after Kohli questioned Paine’s batting technique.
Kohli, walking in close to the wicket, then complained to the umpire when the duo came inches away from chest bumping as Paine raced through for a quick single.
Paine then took things further when questioning whether the Indian players actually liked Kohli as he kept wicket during the tourists’ pursuit of 287 to take a 2-0 series lead.
The 34-year-old was heard on the stump microphone saying: “I know he’s your captain, but you can’t seriously like him as a bloke.”
Surprisingly, Kohli did not receive a big send-off after edging Nathan Lyon to slip to depart for 17, leaving the tourists 48-3.
Lyon, who took five wickets in the first innings, snared the key scalp of Kohli and India reached 112-5 at stumps, requiring 175 more runs on the final day to seal an unlikely win.
India enjoyed a good start to the day as Mohammed Shami shone and needed just five overs after lunch to take four wickets as he sealed career-best figures of 6-56.
Australia’s tail rallied and the hosts were dismissed for 243 after resuming on 132-4.
Mitchell Starc set the tone for Australia at the start of the visitors’ chase, bowling Lokesh Rahul for a duck with the fourth ball of the final innings.
Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant were on 24 and nine, respectively, heading into the fifth and final day.