The banter and verbal volley continued between India and Australia in the ongoing third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Players from both the sides are doing everything possible to get under the skin of opposition players. Australia skipper Tim Paine has been the centre of attraction so far with his top-notch word game from behind the stumps.
From teasing Rohit Sharma over his IPL deal to asking Rishabh Pant to babysit for him, Paine was constantly chirping from behind the stumps. And the Indian camp made sure to give it back. Paine was hilariously sledged by Pant when he came out to bat. Taking a shot at Paine, Pant called him a temporary captain.
“Have you ever heard of a temporary captain, Mayank? Only thing Paine can do is talking, talking,” Pant was caught chirping by the stump microphone.
“We have got a special guest today. Have you ever heard the word ‘temporary captain?’ You don’t need anything to get him out,” he further added.
And towards the end of the day, Pant was joined by his skipper Virat Kohli as the duo threw verbal volleys at Nathan Lyon. Lyon along with Pat Cummins frustrated the visitors with an unbeaten partnership of 43. With nothing working out, Pant tried to unsettle Lyon from behind the stumps in the final session of the day.
That's stumps! Huge fight shown from Pat Cummins to take this to a fifth day.
India need two wickets.
Australia need 141 runs…Scores: https://t.co/0glOblMnaq #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/URTVNVSzGE
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 29, 2018
“C’mon Gary, you don’t want to come tomorrow (Day 5) for nothing,” Pant was caught by the stump mic saying to Lyon.
Lyon looked into Pant’s direction and asked him what he was trying to say. After Pant repeated the same, Lyon said: “I can’t understand you” followed by “I like you too Rishabh”.
Kohli then joined the banter and passed a hilarious comment, telling Pant: “Dil pe baat lag gayi lagta hai (he took offence to your words probably)”.
Here is a clip of that sledge:
https://twitter.com/PGFCAlex/status/1078922045348405250
Australia, meanwhile, ended the day on 258 for 8 while chasing an improbable 399.