Australian cricket fans inside the MCG took a brutal sledgehammer to Indian cricket great Virat Kohli during the final day of the Boxing Day Test, but Indian fans responded with a chant of their own.
Australia claimed a famous victory on the final day of the fourth Test, with Pat Cummins’ team fighting the match away from India to win by 184 runs.
Having built a 340-run lead, there was some concern that India could come out to bat on the final day and snatch the match from the hosts.
But on what was an exciting day of cricket, Australia needed 92 overs to secure the fourth Test.
Man of the match Cummins and Scott Boland took three wickets each, while Travis Head, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon impressed with ball in hand.
However, it was not all smooth sailing for Australia as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant formed a strong partnership, with the former amassing a total of 84 runs.
Virat Kohli took a brutal sledge from some Australian fans inside the MCG on Monday afternoon.
A record 373,691 fans attended the Boxing Day Test at the MCG this week, surpassing the 1937 record in which Don Bradman scored 270 runs.
Kohil had been dismissed for five runs on the fifth day of the fourth Test, being caught by Usman Khawaja off a Pat Cummins delivery.
There was also some controversy on the field, with Jaiswal caught behind Alex Carey after he appeared to pass the ball behind.
Despite that, third umpire Joel Wilson did not raise his finger and Australia opted to review the decision. While there was a clear deviation, Snicko did not go off. Despite this, the television umpires decided that the deviation was clear enough to overturn the original decision and Jaiswal was sent off.
There was also some controversy among the crowd, and some fans at the MCG, including those from the infamous Bay 13, were heard chanting ‘Kohli is an aw*****’.
It comes after the former India captain endured a difficult week in Melbourne, initially clashing with journalists outside an airport.
Kohli claimed that journalists had filmed his family upon their arrival in Victoria.
“With my children I need some privacy, you can’t film without asking me,” the former Indian captain was heard saying.
Kohli was then sanctioned by the ICC after he appeared to “bump the shoulder” of Australian debutant Sam Konstas while walking between overs.
The 36-year-old received a demerit point and a fine of 20 per cent of his match fee for the incident, which is understood to have breached the ICC Code of Conduct relating to “inappropriate physical contact with a player”.
It has been a difficult week for the India batsman, who had gotten into trouble due to a ‘bump on the shoulder’ from Sam Konstas.
Cricket analyst Kartik Kannan revealed the chants that India and Australia fans were singing at the MCG
But some Indian fans responded with a chant of their own, reportedly chanting the phrase: ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya.’
But while Australian fans berated the Indian superstar, some Indian fans inside the MCG responded with their own chant.
According to cricket analyst Kartik Kannan, the Indian fans had chanted the phrase ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ to the Australian supporters.
The phrase is understood to translate into praise of the deity Ganesha.
“Bay 13 says ‘Kohli is shit'”. Bay 14 says ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ This is the strangest comeback I have ever heard. ‘Fuck my life!’
On Monday, Kohli again struggled with bat in hand and was dismissed for just five runs by Mitchell Starc. It came after the Indian great was dismissed for 36 runs in the previous innings.
Despite scoring a century in the first Test, Kohli has been disappointing, by his standards, since then, scoring 65 runs in the last three Tests.
With Australia now 2-1 up in the Border-Gavaskar Series, India will have to seal victory in Sydney next week if they hope to prevent the hosts from claiming victory.