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The first eight days of this series were remarkably peaceful given the animosity of recent encounters between India and Australia. Now, Virat Kohli’s incessant sledging has lit the fuse.
Tim Paine has been adamant he wants his team to leave behind the belligerence and boorishness which has, at times, tarnished their performances in the modern era.
Paine’s charges have followed his lead. Since he took over for the fourth Test in South Africa in March, there has not been a single unsavoury incident instigated by an Australian player in 25 matches across all formats.
Until the Perth Test, that is.
On day four of this match, the Australian hounds were let loose once more, their captain having unlocked the cage in response to Kohli’s churlish antics.
While the home side played the unfamiliar role of Nice Guys until this point, Kohli was having none of it. Clearly, he wanted the series to be played with the acrimony of past battles.
That much was clear when, as India secured their first wicket of the series, Kohli furiously screamed “F— off” at the dismissed Aaron Finch. The Aussies did not return fire when Kohli failed in both innings in that match, resisting the urge to give him a send-off.
While Kohli typically is a sketch of calm when batting, in the field he is far less in control of his emotions. This was writ large over five days in Perth.
When Peter Handscomb took a slips catch to dismiss the touring skipper on day three, the Indian batsman immediately turned around and gave the cordon a mouthful – as if Handscomb was wrong to claim the catch.
Later that day, Kohli celebrated and laughed in animated fashion when Finch was struck on the finger, seeing him retire hurt.
Soon after, when Shaun Marsh was dismissed, Kohli gestured repeatedly towards the Perth crowd and gave them a foul-mouthed spray. Then he zeroed in on incoming batsman Travis Head, sledging him as he walked out to bat, as he marked out his guard, and throughout his innings of 19.
That wicket brought to the crease Paine, whom Kohli was so emotionally invested in sledging that he moved himself to mid-off in the first session of day four, apparently so he could get stuck into the opposite captain from close range.
Virat Kohli (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
For the first time during his reign as captain, the mild-mannered Paine bit back. The clash continued throughout Paine’s pivotal knock of 37 from 116 balls, and resumed when Kohli came out to bat in the fourth innings.
By that stage the Aussie bowlers and fieldsmen were already running their mouths in a manner we hadn’t seen for nine months.
Mitchell Starc was following bouncers with barbs, Nathan Lyon was yakking at incoming batsmen, and fieldsman Travis Head screamed a celebration at Ajinkya Rahane from silly mid-off.
At no stage was Paine shown trying to reel in his players. It seems he believed Kohli’s behaviour justified their aggression. Ironically, it was the persistent hostility of Australian players – paricularly renowned sledgers David Warner and Mitchell Johnson – which first riled Kohli as a youngster, seemingly fuelling him ever since.
Never have I seen a Test captain behave with the constant, wild hostility displayed by Kohli during Australia’s Tests in India last year, when he continually gave huge send-offs. Plenty of cricketers have outbursts, but these are occasional incidents rather than the norm.
Most of the time, players delivering send-offs are bowlers who have just won a battle with the batsman and are surging with adrenaline. It is bizarre, though, when a fieldsman like Warner or Kohli decides to charge in to give a spray.
Kohli did just that over and again versus Australia last year, and not just at renowned loudmouths like Warner and Matthew Wade, but even at quiet, reserved cricketers such as Matt Renshaw and Shaun Marsh.
I can’t help but think that Kohli’s rage towards the Australian team is affecting his performance. He has averaged just 24 with the bat over his past two Test series against them, with just one score higher than 34 from his nine innings.
That one knock was the phenomenal 123 he scored in the first innings at Perth. Skill. Courage. Determination. Composure. There is a long list of adjectives necessary to describe that innings. It was the among the best I have ever seen by a visiting batsman in Australia.
But, in the same way Australia have often marred their achievements with their coarse behaviour, Kohli’s sledging has taken the focus away from this remarkable performance.