The second Test between Australia and India at the Perth Stadium was full of joy, both for fans and players. While on one hand we saw the captains of the two teams – Tim Paine and Virat Kohli – getting involved in a verbal banter which saw even the umpire stepping in even though there was no temper lost, there was another instance where young Australian opener Marcus Harris decided to go under the skin of the Indian wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant, while fielding at short leg.
India was five down for 112 chasing a target of 287 in the game and the final ball of Day 4 was about to be delivered by Mitchell Starc. Pant was taking a stance when Harris turned both an adviser and guide for the Indian batsman. He told him that he if got dismissed, he could go out and enjoy his time at the disco, suggesting that Perth has a good nightlife on Mondays.
The banter was well thought out as Pant too did not hesitate from prompting batsmen from the hosts while taking guard behind the wickets. Pant was at his talkative best on Day 2 of the first Test in Adelaide as he kept on trying to rile up the Australian batsmen and especially Usman Khawaja who was blocking everything that came his way, saying not everybody was Cheteshwar Pujara.
ALSO READ: Glenn Maxwell Praises Rishabh Pant For His Cricketing Talent
Pujara hit a century on Day 1 of the first Test to bring India back into the game which they eventually won by 31 runs. On the final day of the Test too, the southpaw remarked against Aussie tail-ender Pat Cummins saying he was not putting away the bad ball.
Here is the video of the same:
🕺🕺🕺@MarcusHarris14 to Pant: "If you get out you can go out and disco tonight. Good circuit on a Monday night in Perth." 🤣🤣🤣#AUSvIND #FoxCricket pic.twitter.com/Mg2pSfLHxa
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) December 17, 2018
Harris’ banter in Perth was taken in good spirit by former cricketers like Mitchell Johnson and Michael Vaughan. “Good humour,” wrote the former left-arm pacer, Johnson. Harris had a good game in Perth, picking up his first fifty in only the second long-format match he played.
https://twitter.com/MitchJohnson398/status/1074814231688634369
The four-Test series is now tied at 1-1 with two more games to be played in Melbourne and Sydney. India has only drawn three-Test series in Australia till date with the latest being in 2003-04 when too they took a lead to squander in the next games.
