Five moments when Australian cricketers got relevant replies for their sledging

Cricket is not only a battle between two teams but also a war of words since the inception of the game. The Gentleman's game has given the fanatics unbounded episodes of sledging between the players that get nasty sometimes.

India and Australia encounter relive some exciting clashes between the two teams. There has invariably been some added spice when these two teams play against each other.

India and Australia battles have become more prominent than the Ashes because of the intensity and the aggressive nature of Australian cricketers, who love to play mind games.

On the other hand, since the Sourav Ganguly era, Indian players have also started giving it back to the Aussies, and that has given the fans many junctures of some serious showdown between players.

Let us have a glance at five such epic sledging moments when Australians got a suitable response:

1. Virat Kohli vs James Faulkner

The sledging banter during the third ODI between India and Australia in 2016 is still in the mind of all the cricket fans. The duo drew headlines during their sledging dispute as some words got recorded on the stump's mic.

James Faulkner tried to provoke Virat Kohli, who had moved to 73 after taking a single but was left ashamed by the dynamic batsman. Kohli did not allow the pacer to get away, and his response was on point.

"You are wasting your energy. There is no point, I have smashed you enough in my life, said Kohli, gesturing him go back and bowl. The 32-year-old ultimately went to score 117, but his effort was not enough to help team India acquire their first win of the series.

2. Virender Sehwag vs Michael Clarke

There was one incident when the opponent went after Tendulkar, who eventually choose to overlook the comments. But Virender Sehwag, who was partnering with Tendulkar, could not tolerate it.

It was the 2003-04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy played in Australia when Sachin had recovered from an extended treatment for back spasms. As Sachin walked in with Sehwag, Michael Clark went after Tendulkar. He told the legendary Indian batsman to go as he was too old to bat to which Sachin did not react. 

However, Sehwag walked up to Clark and asked him his age. He told him to stop teasing a legend who has more centuries than his age. When Clarke did not hold back, Sehwag annoyed him by asking which dog breed he belonged to as his teammates called him 'Pup'. The Australian seemed confounded as Sehwag and Tendulkar broke out laughing. Throughout the series, Clarke lingered out of their way.

3. Ravi Shastri vs Mike Whitney

One of the best replies of sledging was during India's tour of Australia in 1991-1992 when Ravi Shastri was batting, and Australia's 12th man Mike Whitney was drawn in as a substitute fielder.

Shastri attempted to take a quick single to Whitney at mid-off. He, later on, joked at Shastri to stay in the crease or else he would break his head. Without dodging, Shastri replied, 'If you could bat or bowl as well as you could talk, you wouldn't be the twelfth man!'. It was quite an unusual move back then as Indians were not known to hit back at sledging during that time.

4. Rahul Dravid vs Steve Waugh

In the 2001 Kolkata Test series, the Indian legend gave an excellent answer to a comment by Steve Waugh. During Australia's run chase on the final day, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly managed to drop a sitter off Steve Waugh's bat, and the latter recommended that he may have dropped the Test.

But, minutes later, Waugh lost his wicket, and as he was about to leave the pitch, Dravid replied to him, "Who dropped the Test now?".

5. Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith

One more sledging incident happened between Virat and Smith at the Adelaide oval in 2014. The Indian skipper Virat Kohli required a way of breaking the stand, and he brought Rohit Sharma into the attack. 

Steve Smith came down the crease to face one of Rohit Sharma's balls. Rohit reviewed for an LBW- just a question to the umpire, but a surprising one. Steve Smith gazed in awe, absolutely puzzled by the appeal, as Rohit Sharma questioned the batsman's outrage.

Virat Kohli came close to Smith as they swapped words. Of all players, it was David Warner who ran down to separate the two players. Virat Kohli's ultimate response was caught on the stump mic - "Stay in your limits!".

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