Virat Kohli and Tim Paine collide, exchange words; Sanjay Manjrekar says Indian captain gets away with lot of things

The Australian cricket side have been anything but an impostor as far as the on-field aggression is concerned. The team known for wearing its heart on the sleeve has rather been quite docile following the ball-tampering scandal involving former captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner. The revamped nature of the Australian side means the series so far Down Under has been far away from any controversies, something completely opposite of a typical Australian Summer. However, the fourth day’s play of the second Test at Perth, was probably when India skipper Virat Kohli ran out of his patience with the new nice Aussies as he was seen being involved in a small altercation with opposition captain Tim Paine. [caption id=“attachment_5744381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Virat Kohli and Tim Paine came face-to-face during fourth day’s play at Perth. AP[/caption] The exchange between the players began after Kohli almost came in the way of Paine while completing a run. The banter also saw umpire Chris Gaffaney stepping in to ask both the captains to calm down. In the 71st over, after they almost collided, Kohli said: “I’m not saying a word to you, why are you getting riled up?” You’re the one that lost it yesterday. Why are you trying to be cool today?” Paine replied to Kohli followed by Gaffaney’s intervention. “That’s enough, that’s enough. Come on, play the game. You guys are the captains,” umpire Gaffaney said. “we’re just having a conversation. There’s no swearing … keep your cool Virat,” Paine replied.

Virat Kohli and Tim Paine are back at it!

The two have locked horns again as tension builds on the 4th day of the 2nd Test.

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The incident, however, didn’t go down well with former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. Speaking during the lunch-time show on Sony Six, Manjrekar said Kohli gets away with a lot of things as he’s a brilliant batsman. “That last gesture, Virat Kohli coming in the way of Tim Paine, that was completely uncalled for,” Manjrekar said. “Actually, what if Kohli was not a such a great player getting all the runs that he does — some of his antics and behaviour on the field would have created quite a bit of stir and got lot more criticism. It’s just that he is such a champion batsman, people are sort of accepting that.” “For example, I mentioned Virat Kohli, the brand and that’s why he gets away with a lot of things. Lot of people haven’t talked about his reaction after he was given out [on Sunday]. Any other player – low profile name – I am sure would have got some kind of a warning from the referee," Manjrekar added. Former Australia captain Michael Clarke, however, did not see anything wrong with what Kohli did. “I think it is fine so far. I think I know what comes with Virat Kohli. I have played against him. And I think his attitude you see just there is exactly what you see when he bats. So you can’t have the cake and eat it too,” Clarke said on Sony Six. The battle between Paine and Kohli began on Day 3, when the pair exchanged words while walking off after stumps. After Kohli was dismissed on 17 by Nathan Lyon on Monday, Paine took another potshot at Indian skipper. He was caught on stump mic complaining about Kohli’s demeanour to Murali Vijay. Paine said: “I know he’s your captain but you can’t seriously like him as a bloke?” 

"I know he's your captain but you can't seriously like him as a bloke?"

Tim Paine with some choice words about Virat Kohli to his Indian teammates 🙊 pic.twitter.com/nb8URWf3Mf

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Meanwhile, Kohli’s dismissal left India reeling at 48/3, chasing 287 to win the second Test at Perth Stadium.