Virat Kohli had a heated Day 1 of the fourth Test between India and Australia in Melbourne. With Australia beginning well, Kohli appeared more charged up to make a breakthrough. This not only led to a shoulder-barging clash with Australian opener Sam Konstas, but also a charged up comment to pacer Mohammed Siraj. As Siraj and Marnus Labuschagne were sharing a moment of banter, Virat Kohli was caught on the stump mic asking Siraj in Hindi to not smile while speaking to Labuschagne.
“Has ke baat nahi karna inse (We’re not going to smile while talking to them),” Kohli could be heard telling Siraj as the fielders were switching across at the end of the over.
Watch: Kohli’s fiery instruction caught on stump mic
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Kohli had an animated morning on Day 1 of the fourth Test. Kohli and Sam Konstas clashed in a shoulder barge, with several former cricketers opining that Kohli was solely to blame for the incident.
“[Fielders] should be nowhere near the batsman at that stage,” former Australia captain Ricky Ponting had said in commentary.
“He’s completely wrong. I don’t know why a senior pro who’s played for so long – he’s a King – has been rattled by a 19-year-old.,” said former England skipper Michael Vaughan.
India vs Australia, 4th Test Day 1: As it happened
Australia batted out the entirety of Day 1 to reach a score of 311/6 at Stumps. All of the Australian top order hit fifties, as Sam Konstas made 60, Usman Khawaja made 57, Labuschagne hit 72, while Steven Smith stayed unbeaten on 68.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers once again. While Bumrah was hit for 14 and 18 in two overs by Konstas, he came back to take the wickets of Khawaja, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh.
Travis Head – who has tormented India through the series so far – getting out on a duck was perhaps the highlight from the point of view of India’s bowling.
India will be hoping to restrict Australia to under 400 on Day 2.
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