Picture Credit: Twitter
Where to draw the line is a sensitive topic when it comes to aggression in the sporting arena. While some continue to believe that a sport like cricket is a gentleman's game and must be played like the breed of species who are only interested in the battle between the bat and the ball, there are others who don't mind an overtly aggressive brand of cricket.
There have been instances of a fight against opposition players and so many stories revolving around some sledging and banter but when Virat Kohli and his men give one a send-off, they are merciless. Kohli may not be the India captain anymore but the culture that he has inculcated and led by was witnessed when the team got together after the dismissal of Temba Bavuma in the ongoing third and final ODI of the three-match series.
The incident happened in the third ball of the 7th over when the Proteas skipper Bavuma was looking to go for a single but took a longer route to the non-striker end rather than run straight. That extra second or two cost him his wicket as captain KL Rahul effected a direct hit.
Undoubtedly, the Men in Blue were ecstatic after the fall of the wicket so much so that they perhaps didn't care about the stump mic. In the heat of the moment, the players of the Indian team while celebrating the wicket used abusive lingo.
"Teda muh karke bhaag raha tha mad***jaat" was clearly caught on the microphones and can be heard in a video doing the rounds on social media among other abuses used by the players.
Here is the video:
#SAvsIND Bavuma run-out pic.twitter.com/8EvTTKYVFL
— Amanpreet Singh (@AmanPreet0207) January 23, 2022
Meanwhile, South Africa have posted a target of 288 runs for the Indian team who decided to bowl first after winning the toss. Quinton de Kock scored a splendid hundred (124) for the hosts with his innings consisting of 12 fours and 2 sixes. Prasidh Krishna was the pick of the bowlers for India as he finished with figures of 3/59.