The Australian Cricket team has an old history of sledging the opponents. They are always up for banters and taunts on the cricket field. They apply these tactics to disturb the batsmen and divert their mind.
Although the banters and sledges are acceptable, the racial comments and abuses are something very obnoxious. Tim Paine, however, went on to abuse Ashwin on the fifth day of the match. His words were recorded on the stump mics as Australian captain was criticised from the fans.
India’s Perseverance On The Fifth Day:
India pulled off a near-impossible draw by batting a whole fifth day of the Third Test. The batsmen’s endurance and fighting spirit denied a sure-looking defeat for the Indian team. They batted for more than 130 overs in the fourth innings – something the teams fail to do on most of the instances.
Firstly, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant batted extremely well, with both scoring half-centuries. Rishabh Pant’s attacking innings of 97 runs set the tempo of the match. Later, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari made a gutsy partnership of 67 runs off 259 balls.
Hanuma Vihari, despite pulling off his hamstring, stood tall for the team scoring 23 runs off 161 deliveries. Ashwin, on the other hand, played a venturous knock of 39 runs off 128 deliveries. The duo ensured that India register a hard-fought draw, with the series levelled with 1-1.
Tim Paine’s Racial Comment On Ashwin:
The Australian players, obviously, were frustrated seeing India’s resilience. They sledged the Indian batsmen as much as they could throughout the day. The Australian Captain, Tim Paine, was probably the most frustrated player on the field.
He took a dig at Ashwin and exclaimed, “Can’t wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash.” In reply Ashwin gave him an epic reply, saying, “Can’t wait to get you to India, it’ll be your last series.” This reply angered Paine and he lost his temperament.
Tim Paine called Ashwin a dickhead and mocked him regarding his IPL contract. Paine went on to say that, “At least my teammates like me, di**head.” This racial abuse shouldn’t be taken lightly and a proper investigation must be done against him by the Cricket Australia.
Here’s the video of the complete incident:
Paine; Can’t wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash
Ashwin; Can’t wait to get you to India, it’ll be your last series
Paine; At least my teammates like me, dickhead pic.twitter.com/1XBTmAiAue
— Nick Toovey (@OneTooves) January 11, 2021
Both the teams will play the fourth Test at Brisbane from 15 January. India will look to win the match and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia, meanwhile, will look to make a strong comeback in the fourth Test and take the trophy their home.
