India vs Australia | At the end of the day, Test cricket needs to be competitive, says Kohli

The Indian team were humbled to a 146-run defeat in the second Test match in Perth as Justin Langer’s young squad levelled the ongoing four-match series 1-1. However, the match at the newly erected stadium in Perth over the weekend turned out to be a fiery affair, which saw opposition captains Virat Kohli and Tim Paine, go head to head with each other on the pitch.

While there was a lot of criticism from former players and cricket experts, especially towards Kohi’s behavior, the Indian captain insists that a little healthy banter is good to keep the spirit of Test cricket alive and kicking.

“Not really. As long as there is no swearing out there on the field and there are no personal attacks, the line doesn’t get crossed. There is banter going on. Even at Adelaide there was banter here and there… it’s Test cricket at the end of the day, it has to be competitive. You can’t say that people aren’t going to try and get you out in any way possible at all,” Kohli said at a post-match conference.

The Indian skipper also brushed aside the consequences of the presence of on-field microphones that were picking up whatever the players were talking at the crease.

“Honestly, when a bowler is bowling, he isn’t thinking whether the stump microphone or the camera is on or not. And when you are facing that ball, there is no one in the stadium apart from you and that ball. So, these things are totally irrelevant, and you are actually not aware of them when you are on the field. It’s never bothered me, it’s never been something that’s of importance to me to be honest. For me it’s irrelevant,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Aussie captain Tim Pain also echoed Kohli’s sentiment and played down the entire spat with the Indian captain as ‘part of the game’. Paine revealed that when both teams want to win desperately, things were bound to get a little heated in the middle.

“I don’t think we did touch, to be honest. It got pretty close. But it is what it is. It was a highly competitive Test match from both teams. There’s a lot on the line and when both teams desperately want to win, sometimes that stuff happens,

“I love it. I enjoy watching him, I always have. I think he brings out the competitive spirit in a lot of people, which is great, and I’m sure it was great to watch,” Paine added.

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