India vs Australia | Virat Kohli is hard-nosed and confrontational, says Mark Taylor
Cricket Australia director Mark Taylor reckons that Virat Kohli is an outstanding player but can be perceived as hard-nosed and confrontational by opponents at times. Taylor further opined that Tim Paine is currently winning the battle amongst the two captains in the ongoing series.
Team India will head into the third match on Boxing Day at the MCG on Wednesday hoping to inflict some damage on the home team as the visitors continue on their mission to register a first series win against Australia Down Under. However, the pressure will be on Virat Kohli & Co. after Tim Paine’s side bounced back with a 146-run win against India in Perth last time
One of the talking points of that match was the aggressive behavior that Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, displayed during the course of the game. Former Australian cricketer, Mark Taylor, commented on the 30-year old’s attitude as he said that Kohli can be hard-nosed and confrontational at times.
“He is an outstanding batsman but also hard-nosed and confrontational. I would not be surprised if most Australians mainly see him as the latter, which is unfortunate. While he generally captains the side well, the way he behaves at times does not do himself or his team any good.
“His goading of Tim Paine into a confrontation in Perth worried me. He was trying to elicit a reaction from Paine: ‘Where are you at, mate? Are you prepared to take me on?’ That’s exactly what the game does not need. Cricket is a game about bat versus ball with a bit of theatre when required.
“By all means celebrate hard when your side claims a wicket, or you take a catch at slip, but running down the pitch at umpires and giving send-offs to batsmen is not on. That sort of behaviour leaked into the Australian cricket team over the years and is partly the reason we are here today. India, with Virat as their leader, can learn a lot from what has happened to Australia,” Taylor, who represented Australia in 104 Test matches, told PTI reporters.
The incident involving opposing captains, Paine and Kohli, garnered much attention across various media outlets as the latter was accused of over-aggressive behavior on the pitch. Taylor, who has a tally of 7525 runs for Australia in Test cricket, suggested that Paine is the better of the two skippers at the moment in the ongoing series.
“I wrote before the series Tim was the right man to lead Australia and he’s showing why. The way he is handling Kohli is superb. He has found that line between not overreacting while also letting his opposing captain know he is not weak.
“It’s clear Kohli wants to test Paine and he’s met his match, which is saying something given he is one of the best players in the world and the Australian captain, with 17 Tests, is relatively inexperienced.So far, Paine is winning the battle of the skippers. He’s keeping very well, taking his catches and his stumpings, and making useful runs when his team needs them as he did in both innings in Perth. Above all, he is proving himself to be a strong leader who can stand his ground when tested by a fiery opponent while also respecting the game,” Taylor added.
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