IND vs ENG 2021: 3 times Team India gave it back to the opponents
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami wielded the willow out in the center, Team India captain Virat Kohli stood in the balcony, Ajinkya Rahane accompanied him, and they were screaming their guts out in support of their teammates who were copping verbal blows from the English team. The stage was set for this Team India led by Virat Kohli to give England a taste of their own medicine.
In many ways, Team India does not believe in taking a back step and being bullied by opponents. The energy of Virat Kohli seeps down to the last member of the side and the way they rallied together to put pressure on the England batsmen was a sight to behold.
Here we take a look at the three instances when Team India gave it back to the opponents:
#3 India's tour of Australia, 3rd Test, Melbourne
Team India were locked in an intense series with Australia and Virat Kohli was batting like a dream. In the third Test, Mitchell Johnson tried to get under Kohli's skin by firing in short-pitched stuff as well as a lot of verbal volleys. However, Kohli was not willing to back down. He smashed a superb 169 and led India to a big score of 462 for eight at stumps.
After his knock, he told reporters that he only respected some of the Australian players and that he had no intention of impressing them.
“They were calling me a spoilt brat. 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,” Kohli said.
Kohli went on to score 692 runs in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2014-15.
#2 India tour of Australia, 3rd Test, Sydney 2020
Team India's backs were against the wall when the final day commenced in the 3rd Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. India had to bat out 131 overs in the fourth innings to earn the draw. This was only the sixth instance of a team batting more than 130 overs to save a Test in Australia.
Ashwin and Vihari, both of whom were injured, batted for 256 deliveries which was the fourth-longest partnership recorded for the sixth wicket in the fourth innings of a Test. As the match started slipping away from Australia, their captain Tim Paine started firing verbal volleys at Ashwin.
“Can’t wait for you to come to the Gabba,” is what Paine had fired at Ashwin in the Sydney Test and it was picked up by the stump mic. To this Ashwin replied: “Just like we want to get you to India. That will be your last series.”
“Maybe. Are you a selector here as well?” Paine replied, adding, “At least my teammates like me, d**khead. I’ve got a lot more Indian friends than you do. Even your teammates think you’re a goose. Don’t they? Every one of them."
This made Ashwin even more resolute as be battled pain and batted on as India clinched the draw.
#1 India's tour of England, 2nd Test, Lord's 2021
The scene took a turn for the worse when Jasprit Bumrah started peppering James Anderson with short-pitched deliveries. Anderson did not take this lightly and was vividly upset with the tactics as the sides walked off.
Now, when Bumrah walked out to bat, Mark Wood was introduced into the attack and the first ball from him was a bumper that zipped past Bumrah even before he could blink. James Anderson was fielding at third man, turned towards Ollie Robinson at fine leg and grinned.
Before this, Anderson was charging in at Virat Kohli and kept tried to rile the Indian captain up. In the nine-over spell, there were a number of words exchanged and Virat Kohli even retorted him when he said:
"This isn’t your [***] backyard."
When India bowled, the fielders converged on the England batsmen like a pack, there was a sense of wave that seemed to wash away England as the hosts lost the match from a position where a loss seemed highly impossible.
"With two competitive teams you're going to see a lot of heart and great skills and some words. We don't mind a bit of banter, but if you go after one of our guys all eleven will come right back. That got us going, and the bowlers were really pumped to go out and have a crack," KL Rahul said after the win.