Kohli raises tension with Australia with off-field bluster

Monday, 29 December 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

MELBOURNE (Reuters): Virat Kohli blasted a brilliant 169 to help India claw back into the third test on Sunday and was still firing missiles at the Australian team well after the close of play on day three.

There were some sparks between Johnson and Kohli. At one point, Johnson let fly a throw at the striker’s stumps and hit Kohli by mistake – Getty Images The flamboyant batsman has not taken a backward step on the tour, compiling three defiant centuries and fighting fire with fire in the face of Australia’s verbal pot-shots. He was dismissed by Mitchell Johnson to finish play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but subjected the paceman to his worst day in the field in years, smashing him to the fence in three consecutive balls in one over. Having driven India from a position of some peril in the morning to 462-8 at stumps, a tough-talking Kohli raised the stakes again for the rest of the series, saying he respected only “some” of the hosts’ players. “They were calling me a spoilt brat,” Kohli told reporters. “I said ‘maybe that’s the way I am - I know you guys hate me and I like that’. “I don’t mind having a chat on the field and it worked in my favour, I guess. “I like playing against Australia because it’s really hard for them to stay calm. “I don’t mind an argument on the field. It really excites me and brings the best out of me, so they don’t seem to be learning the lesson.” Having struggled on tour in England and brought a middling batting average of under 39 Down Under, Kohli now has the record to match the swagger. Not even retired great Sachin Tendulkar managed three test centuries on tour of Australia and the last Indian batsman to achieve the feat was Sunil Gavaskar in 1977. Kohli’s average has soared above 44 and his imperious 262-run stand with fellow centurion Ajinkya Rahane (147) was a record fourth-wicket partnership at the MCG.