XtraTime Web Desk: Former Australian captain Michael Clarke created a controversy on Tuesday by claiming that Australians had stopped sledging Indian captain Virat Kohli as they don’t want to risk losing fat money in the IPL. Clarke said, “I feel that Australian cricket, and probably every other team over a little period, went the opposite and actually sucked up to India…The players were like: ‘I’m not going to sledge Kohli, I want him to pick me for Bangalore so I can make my USD 1 million for my six weeks’.”
But the former World Cup winning Aussie captain needs to be reminded that opponent players including Australians were made to regret sledging the Indian batsmen. Here are three such incidents:
Prasad gives it back to Aamer Sohail
This incident will forever remain etched in the minds of Indian fans. The occasion was the 1996 World Cup quarter final match between India and Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy stadium. Stand in Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail, having just reached his half-century, danced down the track to local boy Venkatesh Prasad and cut fiercely for four through covers. He then walked up to Prasad and pointed his bat where he had just hit it, in an apparent challenge to stop him from doing so again. The lanky Indian pacer bounced back in style, getting Sohail bowled off his next delivery. The packed house at the Chinnaswamy erupted. It was now the turn of Prasad to show Sohail the pavilion as he walked off the field.
Yuvraj makes Broad pay for Flintoff’s words
During the inaugural World T20 match in 2007 between India and England, England all rounder Andrew Flintoff said he would ‘cut (Yuvraj’s) throat off’ after two boundaries were hit in his over by the southpaw. Yuvraj replied to this verbally by saying he would hit Flintoff with his bat, but had something more to add as well. When Stuart Broad came in to bowl the next over, Yuvraj did the unimaginable, hitting six consecutive sixes in the over.
Kohli smashes Faulkner for getting under his skin
Australian bowler James Faulkner will definitely remember this incident that took place during the 3rd ODI at Melbourne Cricket Ground. He bowled four consecutive dot balls to Virat Kohli and started taunting him. Kohli did not seem too interested but as Faulkner started walking up to him, Kohli was heard on the stump mic – ‘I’ve smashed you enough in my life. Don’t waste your time, go bowl.”
The very next over bowled by Faulkner, Kohli smashed him for 12 runs, including a huge six over mid-on, almost as if to prove a point. In the next match, in Canberra, Kohli smashed 29 runs from the 16 balls he faced off Faulkner. Kohli went on to score two centuries in that 5 match ODI series.
