Watch: Hardik Pandya Hits Back At Pat Cummins After Being Sledged

Sledging, top-class banter and a world-class cricket has been the most prominent features of every India and Australia fixture in the last couple of decades or so. Earlier this year, the Border-Gavaskar Test series was marred by controversies and sledging and speculations were rife that the ongoing ODI series will witness several heated moments.

But surprisingly, the series began in Chennai on a calmer note with players of both the teams focusing just on the game. However, in the following game at the Eden Gardens, the verbal duels returned as India skipper Virat Kohli was involved in a squabble with Matthew Wade and an altercation was witnessed once again on Sunday (September 24) during the third game too. This time the players in action were Hardik Pandya and Pat Cummins.

The incident occurred in the 28th over when Pandya played Cummins like a spinner, playing a short-arm whip towards the deep square leg. Cummins was perhaps not amused by the shot and decided to get under Pandya’s skin. The Aussie speedster was seen mumbling something at Pandya. In reply, the Indian star asked the pacer to say again as he did not hear his comments initially. As Cummins was heading towards his bowling mark, Pandya approached him before the on-field umpire intervened and brought things under control.

Here is a clip of that incident:

https://twitter.com/CricGif17/status/911964621963010048

Meanwhile, India defeated the world champions by 5 wickets to win the third ODI and take an unassailable lead in the five-match series. Batting first, Australia rode on Aaron Finch’s century to post a challenging 293 for 6. However, India, led by Pandya’s 78, chased down the total inside 48 overs to seal the series.