5 Instances when the current Indian Test team hit back strongly after sledging

Well, this Indian team under Virat Kohli’s leadership is a true beast. The more you dwell them against the wall, the better they come back to strike hard. In fact just like the Aussies of the 2000s, this team India adores competing tough and fair.

Perhaps in their recent overseas trips, King Kohli and his men have certainly embodied thrashing giants in their backyard. No matter if it’s a green top or a fortress of any side, the challenge is vigorously accepted to triumph. Especially the two consecutive series wins on the Australian soil are the biggest testimonies regarding even if you sledge them, get ready to be bombarded.

Hence in this list, let’s revisit 5 instances when the current Indian team had hit back strongly after getting sledged

1. England vs India 2nd Test, Lord’s (2021)

Well, the recent Test series between England and India was a very competitive one. Though the scoreline now stands at 2-1 with India leading, undoubtedly it was well lauded by many red-ball lovers. However, in the second game, both these giants to secure their first win left no stone unturned at Lord’s.

Especially in the last two days when the Test match was nicely poised, England started rubbing shoulders with team India in a wrongful manner. To tumble India out cheaply in their second innings, the likes of Anderson, Buttler and other players started hounding the Indian batters with their sledging strategy. Even when skipper Kohli was batting, Joe Root and his men gave him a piece of their minds.

However, the tension amongst the two teams had reached a boiling point when the English pacers attacked Jasprit Bumrah both verbally and through a barrage of bouncers. Especially because the veteran James Anderson had battled the feisty bouncers of Bumrah in the first innings, England thought it was redemption time.

But sadly for the hosts, their actions got completely backfired as India’s tail-enders stitched a record 9th wicket stand on Day 5. Both Bumrah and Shami registered a match-winning 89 run stand which surely then had become a big mountain to chase.

Eventually, to fetch redemption, Virat Kohli and boys not only celebrated every English wicket savagely but also got under the skin after every over. Especially the gloveman Rishabh Pant and Mohammad Siraj continued the war of words throughout England’s innings. Overall sadly by tasting their own medicine, England poorly lost the game by a margin of 151 runs.

2. Australia vs India 3rd Test, Sydney (2021)

For India winning the 2021 Border-Gavaskar series in Australia was utterly euphoric. Despite being injury-plagued and enduring the Adelaide loss, skipper Rahane and his boys exhibited a brave turnaround. However, the third Test at the SCG was an action-packed contest especially when India registered a miraculous escape.

As the Indians were made to chase a mammoth target of 400 plus in the last innings, it was certain that the Aussies might smoothly triumph. Perhaps when the fifth wicket had fallen for 272, it felt that the home pacers will conclusively run through the rest of the batting. However, when the gritty partnership of Ravi Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari stood like a wall, the Aussie skipper started with his set of rants.

Initially while taking on Ashwin, Tim Paine said that he can’t wait for India to reach Gabba. In response, Ashwin spoke, “I can’t wait for you to come to India, that will be your last series”. In fact, with Paine getting clearly rattled, he further added that “your teammates don’t even like you”, following which some abusive words were also then murmured by the gloveman.

However, though initially the verbal spat by Paine and company was launched to offend the two batters, it atrociously went wrong for the skipper. After his exchange with Ashwin, the 36-old dropped two catches and eventually had become the villain of that dramatic draw.

3. India vs Australia 2nd Test, Bangalore

When Australia had visited India last in 2017, the series had become an utterly peppy encounter. By securing the victory in the first game, Steve Smith and his boys almost had continued from where they had left. By bowling first, they even emphatically bundled the Indian batting for a modest score of 189 in Bangalore.

In fact, to further strong-arm themselves, the visitors posted 279 and secured a substantial 87 run lead. To even dominate further, the first four wickets were also easily scalped for a score of 120. However, when Ajinkya Rahane had joined Cheteshwar Pujara to save the second game, the duo faced extreme sledging from the Aussie players.

The sledging was such that Aussies already had believed to be winning the game on Day 3. Further, even when Australia had required 178 runs to win, their batters had looked overconfident. In fact, in between when Ravi Ashwin had a bleak outing during Australia’s first innings batting, he had warned about a poor collapse in the second innings.

Perhaps by staying on his words, the ace spinner scalped six wickets in the final innings and helped India to even the score-line.

4. India vs England 4th Test, Mumbai

To redeem themselves for the loss against England at home in 2012, Virat Kohli and his boys had sadly shambled the visitors in 2016. The skipper himself who was amassing truckloads of runs had again produced a double ton at Wankhede. Even in terms of bagging wickets, Ravi Ashwin had profusely scalped 12 wickets in the game.

However, when England was battling out to save a defeat on the final day, James Anderson was seen getting confronted by many Indian fielders. Because the pacer had made some remarks during the game, he was discommoded by a few Indian players.

In his remarks, Anderson had said that Kohli’s high tally of runs in the series doesn’t prove his technique against the moving ball. Overall to put an end to the entire tussle, it was King Kohli who had intervened and calmed things down. Eventually, Ravi Ashwin was seen having the last laugh especially by making India win by an innings and 36 runs.

5. Australia vs India 3rd Test, Melbourne (2018)

Well, before this Test match at Melbourne, the world barely had known Tim Paine as a sledging personality. It was in this game that the Aussie captain had decided to respond back precisely when Virat Kohli had sledged him at Perth in the second Test.

To begin with the banter proceedings, Paine had first targeted Rohit Sharma by chatting with Aaron Finch that “If Rohit hits six I’m changing to Mumbai”. On the other side though Rohit had calmly ignored he ended up scoring decently. However, during India’s second innings when a batting collapse was witnessed, Paine targeted the young Rishabh Pant.

The Aussie skipper’s verbal spat started with saying “Tell you what, big MS is back in the one-day squad too, we might get him down to the hurricanes this bloke, we need a batter” Further continuing Paine added, “Fancy that Pant, extend your little Aussie holiday. Beautiful town Hobart too. Get you a nice apartment on the waterfront”.

Perhaps after all of his exchanges, Paine then asked Pant to babysit so that he could take his wife for movies. Nevertheless, though the Indians declared their second innings for a score of 106-8, they pounced on Australia to win by 137 runs. Even the young Pant later was sledging Tim Paine as a temporary captain.