Top-7 Memorable Altercations Between India And Australia Players In The Past 20 Years

It is fair to say that India vs Australia is one of the most fiercely contested rivalries in modern-day cricket. In the past 20 years, no two sides have produced nerve-wracking, edge-of-the-seat nerve-janglers on a consistent basis then these two sides.

And, amidst all those enthralling battles, we have been witness to a plethora of altercations- sometimes funny while on other occasions downright nasty- between both sets of players.

Here’s a look at top-7 most memorable altercations between Indian and Australian players in the past 20 years-

Also Read: Five Biggest Upsets In ODI Cricket Since 2000

David Warner and Varun Aaron, 2014

The 2014 India vs Australia Test series at the Adelaide Oval is remembered for Virat Kohli’s magical twin hundreds and the heartbreak that ensued after India came agonizing close to chasing the Australian target in the fourth innings.

But, apart from these two, there is one more moment which is memorable from that Test match- Varun Aaron’s premature celebrations.

Aaron and David Warner were constantly going at each other and the Kerala fast bowler seemed to have got the better of the southpaw when he rattled Warner’s stumps. An elated Aaron let out a guttural roar, saying “Come On!”.

However, Aaron’s celebrations were short-lived as it turned out to be an illegitimate delivery.

Gautam Gambhir, Shane Watson and Simon Katich, 2008

The year 2008 was the nadir as far as relations between Indian and Australian players were concerned. Another example of it is the Delhi Test during Australia’s tour of India.

The Test match is famous for Gautam Gambhir’s career-best 206 and for the subsequent retirement of skipper Anil Kumble. However, it is also infamous for the ugly altercation between Gautam Gambhir, Shane Watson, and Simon Katich.

With Virat looking impenetrable at the crease, Australian players including Watson and Katich tried their best to unsettle the Indian southpaw. Watson even tried to come in Gambhir’s way when he was completing a run as verbal volleys between the duo.

Matters escalated after Gambhir and Simon Katich got involved in a heated conversation. Watson once again tried to block Gambhir’s wat post which the Delhi batsman proceeded to elbow him.

Watson was handed a fine while Gambhir was subsequently handed a one-match ban which paved the way for the debut of Murali Vijay in Nagpur.

Tim Paine and Rishabh Pant, 2018

One of the rare instances when the banter between an Indian and Australian player did not escalate into an ugly altercation.

Tim Paine, thought-out that 2018-19 series, tried to get under the skin of the Indian batsmen courtesy his witty banter. He tried the same against Rishabh Pant during the Boxing Day Test where he taunted the southpaw for the fact that MS Dhoni will soon replace him in the ODI series that followed the Test matches.

Paine offered Pant to play for the Hobart Hurricanes before asking him this hilarious question-

” Do you babysit? I can take my wife to the movies while you watch the kids,”

The question backfired substantially on Tim Paine as Pant not only proceeded to babysit his kids but also schooled his bowling attack to tatters during his whirlwind 159 in the following Test at the SCG.

Virat Kohli and James Faulkner, 2016

Before the 2016 T20 World Cup, the Indian team traveled to Australia for a series of five ODIs followed by three T20Is. While Team India proceeded to whitewash the Aussies in the T20I series, Australia got the better of Dhoni’s men in the ODIs.

The results may have been different in both series but one thing that was constant throughout those eight limited-overs fixtures was Virat Kohli’s form.

Kohli was churning out runs for fun and so during the third ODI, James Faulkner decided to unsettle the current Indian captain’s rhythm through sledding.

Kohli, unflustered by the mind games, gave a savage reply to the Aussie all-rounder.

“You’re wasting your energy. There’s no point. I’ve smashed you enough in my life. Just go and bowl”

Kohli not only smashed Faulker but he meted out the same treatment to the other Australian bowlers as he blazed his way to yet another hundred [117].

Tim Paine and Virat Kohli, 2018

Another incident that took place during the 2018-19 India tour of Australia was between the two captains-Virat Kohli and Tim Paine.

It all started during the Australian second innings at Perth when Kohli, while standing at 1st slip tried to pull Paine’s leg by saying that India will soon 2-0 up in the four-match series. Paine replied: “You’ve got to bat first, big head”

Matters escalated the following morning after a series of verbal exchanged saw both Paine and Kohli come inches close from chest-bumping before Umpire Chris Gaffaney finally intervened.

During the Indian innings, Paine went to the extent of asking Murali Vijay-

“I know he’s your captain but you can’t seriously like him as a bloke,”

Paine eventually had the last laugh in that Test match as Kohli was dismissed for 17 and India fell to a crushing 146-run-loss.

Virat Kohli and Mitchell Johnson, 2014-15

Ahh! This one was bloody good! It had been brewing ever since Mitchell Johnson hit Virat Kohli with a rip-snorter during the first Test of the 2014 series at the Adelaide Oval, and it finally blew up during the Boxing Day Test when Johnson, in an attempt to run-out Kohli proceeded to accidentally hit him.

And, all hell broke loose!

The duo got involved in a heated conversation, post which Kohli nearly lost his wicket but for the dropped catches by Shane Watson and Brad Haddin. Not the one to bow down to an altercation, Kohli proceeded a brutal counter-attack on the Australian fast bowler.

Every time Johnson attempted a short-pitched delivery, Kohli would rock back onto his backfoot and smoke him, BANG, for a boundary between square-leg and mid-wicket. Kohli eventually finished with a masterly 169.

Johnson, however, pulled things back when it mattered the most as he dismissed Virat for 1 in the all-important World Cup semi-final.

The Johnson-Kohli saga didn’t end here though. The former Australian fast bowler took a cheeky jibe at Virat on the eve of the 2016 T20 World Cup clash between India and Australia.

“Love it!! Went missing in WC semi-final the last yr when it really counts,” Johnson had tweeted.

We all know what happened after that. Kohli went on to play one of the greatest T20 innings of all times – 82* off 51 balls- to help India knock the Aussies out of the competition.

Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds, Monkeygate Scandal, 2008

The biggest of them all! The Monkeygate scandal.

The second Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground between India and Australia during the 2007-08 series had controversy written all over it from the very outset

And, if the dozens of umpiring howlers against India and the Australian team’s brazen ‘lack of sportsman spirit’ wasn’t enough, the Test match got further embroiled in controversy when Andrew Symonds alleged that Harbhajan Singh had hurled a racial slur at him [Read: Monkey] during the duos heated altercation during the third day.

Matters escalated substantially when Harbhajan was handed a three-Test ban. The Indian team threatened to quit the tour and the ICC disciplinary committee eventually exonerated Bhajji of the racial abuse charges on the back of the paucity of evidence.

The Monkeygate scandal left a huge impact on Andrew Symonds, who a couple of years ago, admitted that the incident led to alcohol abuse and an eventual downward spiral.

Harbhajan and Symonds later played together for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL where, according to the Australian all-rounder, Harbhajan broke down while apologizing to him.

Also Read: Five Things That We Do Not See In Cricket These Days

Honourable Mentions: Sreesanth and Andrew Symonds, Virender Sehwag and James Pattinson, Virat Kohli and Matthew Wade.