Kohli’s sledging and rivalry with Smith the main talking points in Australian media
The 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar series in Bengaluru proved to be an all-time classic as India defeated the visitors by 75 runs to level the series. However, it was Virat Kohli’s war of words with Australian skipper Steve Smith, on and off the field, which made the headlines in Australian media.
Virat Kohli might have contributed much to India’s victory in the second Test with his bat, but the Indian made his presence felt by going after Smith and Matt Renshaw on the field. The Indian skipper also stopped just short of calling the Australians cheaters in the post-match press conference after Steve Smith was caught consulting the dressing room for a DRS review.
Back in Australia, Kohli has become the target of some harsh remarks by former Australian cricketers and journalists. While Ian Healy recently said that he is losing his respect for the 28-year-old, Sydney Morning Herald’s Andrew Wu wrote, “Virat Kohli is talking a bigger game than he is playing but the Indian captain is showing he can still inspire his team through words rather than action. His heckling of Smith was relentless. From the moment the Australian captain took guard, he was under siege. Not even the drinks break provided refuge for Smith,” in his article headlined ‘Kohli talking
The Daily Telegraph’s article titled ‘Kohli gets personal with Smith’ reads, “The gloves came off in Bangalore on Sunday night as Virat Kohli got personal in his battle with long-term rival Steve Smith.”
John Anderson wrote in this article “From gracious winner to
Robert Craddock, who also writes for The Daily Telegraph, took a dig at India’s wastefulness with the DRS. He wrote, “India has continued to make a hash of the DRS despite coach Anil Kumble’s pre-second Test assertion that it was not a problem his side needed to work on.”
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