“The snake did pretty well by itself” - When Virat Kohli took a subtle dig at Nathan Lyon during 2017 BGT
Virat Kohli has always believed in giving it back to the opposition, and has been a vocal player on-field, particularly against Australia. India have been involved in several heated and subtle banters against the team from Down Under, both on and off the field.
During the recently concluded second Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Test in Adelaide, Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head were involved in a heated exchange on the field. However, this wasn't a one-off incident, with the two sides going at each other consistently over the years.
Back in 2017, when Australia toured India for the BGT series, then-Indian captain Virat Kohli took a subtle dig at Australia spinner Nathan Lyon. The second Test of the series was played in Bengaluru, during which Lyon referred to Kohli as the head of the snake after getting him out in the first innings. He said if they could take the snake out, the body would fall itself.
India went on to win the Test by 75 runs eventually. In a press conference after the game, Virat Kohli hit back at Lyon's snake comments. Notably, the hosts had won the game despite Kohli not performing well with the bat.
"A lot of people are talking about the head of the snake but I think the snake did pretty well by itself. So it's not just about one individual here, I am pretty happy if they (Australia) keep focusing on the head of the snake and the snake can sting from a lot of directions here. So I think some people need to keep that in mind," Kohli said in the press conference.
Virat Kohli-led India beat Australia by 75 runs in Bengaluru Test during 2017 BGT
Nathan Lyon dismissed Virat Kohli for just 12 runs in the first innings. But KL Rahul put his hands up, scoring a crucial 90 as India put up a total of 189 in the first innings, with Lyon claiming eight wickets.
Australia, in response, scored 276 runs as Ravindra Jadeja picked up six wickets. The hosts then posted a total of 274 in their second innings, thanks to 50s from Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rahul. Notably, Kohli was dismissed for just 15.
Australia were set a target of 188 runs in the fourth innings. But riding on Ravichandran Ashwin's six-wicket haul, the hosts bundled the visitors out for 112 runs, handing themselves a 75-run victory.
India put up an all-round performance with several players stepping up, which Virat Kohli referred to during his press conference, saying the 'snake did pretty well by itself'.