The banter between Virat Kohli and Tim Paine was all in good spirits, says Josh Hazelwood

12/17/2018

Josh Hazelwood has stated that all the words exchanged between the two captains were in good stead and none crossed the line. It was said after skippers Virat Kohli and Tim Paine were involved in a verbal banter in the 71st over of Australia’s second innings and the umpire had to intervene.

Umpire Chris Gaffaney had to intervene when Virat Kohli and Tim Paine came very close to each other when the Kohli was fielding at mid-off and Paine was running towards the non-striker end. But Australian pacer Josh Hazelwood, who put a brilliant performance yet again picking two wickets, stated that there was nothing wrong with the banter between the two captains.

"I think it was all good fun, it's quite competitive out there as you know and there's going to be words from time to time but it was all in good spirits," Hazlewood said after the match, reported PTI.

"I don't think we read too much into it, we go about our work as we see fit and the Indians can do what they like. We control what we control and our behaviour is what we control. We'll worry about that and let everything else take care of itself," he added.

After India were set a target of 287 runs to chase in the final innings, the visitors fumbled and ended the day’s play reaching a score of 112/5 with Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant on the crease. Hazelwood, who picked the important wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, revealed that for him Pujara was the key wicket.

"No definitely not. I probably see (Cheteshwar) Pujara as the big wicket as far as when I'm bowling, the glue that holds them together I think. He's batted the most balls this series and scored nearly the most runs. I see Pujara as a big wicket and Ajinkya Rahane as well. So the nos. 3, 4, 5 as the key wickets and we see it a bit unstable in the other parts of the order. Certainly, not all the focus is on Virat Kohli," he said.

Hazelwood further delved into the methods of his skipper stating that Paine kept things simple and didn't get flustered at any stage. He also went on to praise the wicketkeeper for his leadership skills.

"Tim Paine keeps things quite calm and composed and he doesn't get too flustered at any stages really and you could see that with the bat today, the way he batted and he was pretty unlucky to get that one today. In the field, he leads very well, nice and calm," he added.

The banter between Virat Kohli and Tim Paine was all in good spirits, says Josh Hazelwood

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