India crumbled in the face of Australia’s relentless pressure, suffering a 146-run defeat in the second Test in Perth on Tuesday. The hosts leveled the four-match series 1-1 after India were bowled out for 140 runs in 56 overs in their second innings on the fifth and final day. India lost their last five wickets for 28 runs, starting from overnight 112 for five, and it was all over within 65 minutes of play. This was Australia’s first Test win since the ball-tampering scandal broke out in South Africa earlier this year.
It is also Tim Paine's first as captain. Starc (3-46) and Lyon (3-39) finished with three wickets apiece, while Josh Hazlewood (2-24) and Pat Cummins (2-25) took a brace each. While Starc and his pace colleagues were expected to thrive on the lively track, it was off-spinner Lyon’s exceptional outing that gave Australia the edge. He finished the match with eight wickets, including a five-for in the first innings and a deserving 'Man of the Match' award.
There were no runs for India's nine, 10 and 11, as Cummins came on and quickly had Ishant Sharma caught behind and Jasprit Bumrah caught and bowled. The wicket not only ended the Test, and squared this series at 1-1, but also ended a winless run of six Tests, dating back to the first Test of that fateful series in South Africa in March.
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“KEEP YOUR COOL, VIRAT”
The loss apparently worked up Indian captain Virat Kohli, who engaged in a sledging spat with Australian counterpart Tim Paine. Paine had pledged to tone down any words on the field following his appointment as skipper, in a bid to clean up the team's image and win back public support after the ball-tampering scandal. Virat, on the other hand, had also indicated before the series that he would only take part in sledging if Australia started it. For whatever the decency was worth for the both of them before the series began, everything went down the drain the minute the pair clashed out in the middle, having exchanged words first the previous evening.
Umpire Chris Gaffaney was forced to intervene during the morning session, stepping in to come between the two players after Kohli questioned Paine's batting technique. Kohli, walking in close to the wicket, then complained to the umpire when the duo came inches away from chest bumping as Paine raced through for a quick single. Kohli said, “I'm not saying a word to you, why are you getting riled up?”, to which Paine replied, “I'm fine. You're the one that lost it yesterday, why are you trying to be cool today?” At this point, Gaffaney intervened saying, “Oi, that's enough, that's enough.”
An unrelenting Paine said, “We're allowed to talk.” However, Gaffaney, who was in no mood to let the spat continue, said, “Nah, nah, come on, play the game. You guys are the captains.” After a couple more minutes of to and fro, Paine directed his energy towards the Indian captain and said, “Keep your cool, Virat!”
To those who wonder how the spat began; both captains were consistently involved in banter during the match, they insisted that no line was crossed. However, reports in Australia claimed that Kohli, the world's No.1 Test and ODI batsman boasted about being the best in the business during the showdowns. After the match ended, Kohli was asked several questions about the argument. He said no one crossed the line.
“As long as there is no swearing on the field, and there's no personal attacks, the line doesn't get crossed. That's it!. But look, in competitive spirit it stays on the field. I am not going to go into details but to be honest it's not of importance for me to speak on and it's something that's done,” Kohli said after India lost the Test by 146 runs.
The BCCI came out in support of Kohli, saying the statement attributed to Kohli was just hearsay and he never bragged about himself. “It is 'assumed' that Kohli said, 'I am the best player in the world and you are just a stand-in captain'. These claims were based on hearsay and the BCCI would like to bring into notice that no such words were spoken on the field by the Indian captain,” BCCI said in a statement.
