New Delhi [India], December 28 : Former cricketers Atul Wassan and Madan Lal slammed the Australian media for labeling India's Virat Kohli a "clown" during the ongoing fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In his first encounter against a star-studded Indian side, young Australian opener Sam Konstas showed immense confidence, unafraid to try some unorthodox shots.
To build pressure on the youngster, Virat employed his trademark aggression, bumping into Konstas and making shoulder-to-shoulder contact. However, the tactic backfired as Konstas hit star pacer Jasprit Bumrah for some big shots, including a reverse ramp, scoring 34 runs off Bumrah's total of 60.
Following the incident, Virat was fined 20 percent of his match fee and handed one demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC). This triggered negative press for Virat in the Australian media, with the back page of The West Australian newspaper calling him a "clown," which went viral on social media.
"You can't expect much from them. They always do that. Our players are hard and professional," Wassan told ANI in response to the "clown" comment. "It is wrong. Such hard words should not be used. Passing such comments is not good. Virat shouldn't have done that," Madan Lal added.
Throughout his stay at the crease, Virat showed discipline, leaving deliveries outside the fourth or fifth stump region, forcing Australian bowlers to bowl closer to his body. In the 86 deliveries he faced, he left the balls alone, except for the one that got him dismissed. He rarely touched deliveries that could have forced an edge to the slips.
Virat looked in control of the game before the unfortunate run-out incident with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Losing concentration, he edged the ball to Alex Carey for 36(86), sending him to the dugout.
India made a strong comeback on Day 3, with Nitish Kumar Reddy scoring his maiden Test century and Washington Sundar contributing an invaluable 50(162). Their efforts helped India survive the day with 358/9 on the board, trailing by 116 runs.