Australian captain Tim Paine had a forgettable day on the final day of the Sydney Test on Monday, when he dropped three catches.
After Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara’s initial counter-attack, the grit shown by Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin in the final two and a half hours to save the game saw the hosts get quite frustrated.
With each passing minute the frustration for Australia kept growing, all the more for skipper Paine, who had dropped Pant twice - once on 3 -- and that came to a head against Ashwin in the final hour of play.
Ashwin, who had played well over 100 balls by that time and looked at ease was Paine's target, as the Australian was heard on the stump mic sledging the Indian off-spinner, but little did he realise that Ashwin would give it back to him in kind.
Paine started the chatter telling Ashwin he can't wait for India to come to the Gabba. Ashwin though responded with, "I can't wait for you to come to India, that will be your last series".
Clearly rattled, Paine retorted with, "your teammates don't even like you," followed by an R-rated rant. Ashwin, about to take strike, then pulled out to further frustrate the Australian.
Things took a turn for the worse for Paine as he dropped his third catch of the innings, when Hanuma Vihari edged one behind off Mitchell Starc, with only five overs left in the day's play.
Speaking after the SCG Test, which was a draw after a 259-ball stand between Vihari and Ashwin the Australian captain said, “I probably set a pretty poor example with my use of language. Certainly disappointed with myself… I know the stump ‘mics’ are on and there’s a lot of kids watching and I need to set a better example.”
“There was a bit of by-play going on. They were wasting a bit of time, we were getting a bit frustrated, we let him know, he had a bit of say back and again it’s all part of the game. No harm done,” the 36-year-old Paine maintained after the match.
Indian skipper Ajinkya Rahane also spoke about the matter after the match.
“As long as it stays on the field,” Rahane said, praising the way Ashwin handled the pressure.
Vihari and Ashwin eventually batted through till the end of 131st over before both teams decided to shake hands. Ashwin faced 128 deliveries for his 39, while Vihari played 161 for his 23.
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