10 Infamous sledging incidents that made headlines in cricket

8. Tim Paine vs Rishabh Pant, 2018 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

In recent years, a new rivalry has been born international cricket and that’s between India and Australia. After the year 2000, India have played quality cricket and have consistently posed a challenge to the Aussies who are known for playing an aggressive brand of cricket. The contest between both sides is renowned for ferocious competition, cricketing icons, and banters.

In 2019, India registered their maiden Test series victory on Australian soil, beating the hosts by 2-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2018-19. During the intriguing Test series, a lot of banter happened between both sides, however, one that became the highlight was Tim Paine’s conversation with India’s wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant during the Boxing Day Test.

After a couple of Tests, the series was level at 1-1 and Pant was out in the middle in the crucial game at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Paine, who was the Australia skipper then, sledged the India player saying, “Tell you what big MS is back in the one-day squad. Should get this bloke down to Hurricanes. They need a batter. Fancy that extend your Aussie holiday, beautiful town Hobart too... get him a waterfront apartment. Have him over for dinner. Do you babysit? I can take my wife to the movies while you watch the kids."

Giving it back to Paine, Pant replied, "We have got a special guest here. Have you heard the word temporary captain ever? You [Jadeja] don't need anything to get him out. Come on lads. He loves to talk, that's the only thing he can do. Only talking talking." India won this game by 137 runs and this was India’s first Test victory at the MCG after 37 years.