Australia vs India 2018-19: Tim Paine sledges Rohit Sharma with a hilarious conversation with Aaron Finch
What's the story?
The 'friendly' banter between the Australians and the Indians doesn't seem to stop as we have one more episode to excite our ears. The recent addition to the list is the funny conversation between Tim Paine and Aaron Finch where they tried to charge up Rohit Sharma in a bid to take an extra wicket before the tea time.
Here is the video:
The heart of the matter
With Nathan Lyon coming into the attack, Paine decided to take on Rohit with a strategy to unsettle him with some funny words coming from behind the stumps. Howbeit, instead of talking directly to Rohit, Paine applied an intriguing technique of talking to Finch who was fielding at the forward short leg position. The stump-mic was loud and on as it picked up the funny comment made by the Australian captain.
Through the stump microphone, Paine (to Finch) was heard saying, "It’s been a toss up for me between Royals and Indians, and if Rohit hits a six here, I am changing to Mumbai." Nonetheless, Rohit didn't reply and smartly went through the over.
He didn't stop there as he said, "Too many Poms at the Royals" referring to Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and possible Jofra Archer.
The background
The Indian cricket team is currently playing the third Test against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. On the eve of Boxing Day, India won the toss and decided to sharpen up their willow first. With the series nicely poised at 1-1, we had an excellent Day 1 as India posted a total of 215 for the loss of just two wickets. On the back of Mayank, Kohli, and Pujara, India managed to dominate the Day 1.
On the same lines, India kicked-off Day 2 in a decent way as Kohli and Pujara held their hands at the stroke of lunch. But, Australia managed to come back in the game as they scalped two quick wickets in the name of Virat and Pujara. Nonetheless, the arrival of Rohit and Rahane seemed to have stabilized the Indian batting after two quick blows. However, Paine started to get a bit hyperactive in an attempt to close the Indian innings as early as possible. And the fresh 'friendly' banter between him and Rohit (virtually) is a testimony to it.