Virat Kohli has always been an aggressive cricketer who was known for his aggressive on-field temperament. He had often clashed with the Australian crowd. During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches, Kohli has been quite vocal with his words for the crowd on multiple occasions. They have also reacted with a boisterous reply from the Australians. This Sunday, while defending a target of 162 for India against Australia in Sydney, Kohli once again took an aggressive approach in reply to the jeers by the crowd.
After Steve Smith’s dismissal, Kohli was seen mimicking emptying his pockets – a direct reference to the infamous sandpapergate scandal that shook Australian cricket in 2018. The scandal involved Australia’s Cameron Bancroft, who was caught using sandpaper on the ball during a Test against South Africa to alter its condition and assist the Australian bowlers. This incident led to severe repercussions such as Bancroft, and then-captain Steve Smith received bans, also vice-captain David Warner. Smith, and Warner also got sidelined to international cricket, with Smith was banned for twelve months and took away his captaining rights although Cricket Australia re-lifted his leadership ban.
Kohli’s gesture caused a lot of attention, which came immediately after Steve Smith’s dismissal during Australia’s innings. The controversy aside, it was a testament to the charged atmosphere in the ongoing series.
Watch Kohli’s gesture:
“What is that about?”#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/HwNZXhKW1S
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2025
The animosity between Kohli and the Australian crowd has reached new heights during this series. In the fourth Test in Melbourne, Kohli was at the center of another controversy following a shoulder-thud incident with debutant Sam Konstas. This argument has landed him on very high-level attention, but ultimately led him to be slapped with a 20 percent match fee fine. While he was enduring severe booing throughout the Australian innings, he refused to flinch. Kohli rather defiantly provoked his public to applaud him even louder to heighten the tension level of the issue.
The 36-year-old cricketer, stepping in as captain on Day 3 in Sydney, took charge in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence. Bumrah, who sustained a back spasm on the second day of the Test and was rushed to the hospital for scans, later batted in India’s second innings but could not bowl during Australia’s chase. Kohli’s leadership under such circumstances added another layer of intensity to an already charged game.
