It sure sounded like some ominous warning for the hosts. India captain Virat Kohli, arguably the best batsman today, was prepping up for the Test series in Australia. He was hitting the ball like a possessed batsman, and bearing brunt of the 30-year-old at Adelaide, where the first of the four Test matches will be played starting Thursday.
Cricket Australia shared a video of Kohli in nets, with a caption "India skipper Virat Kohli in the Adelaide Oval nets today (watch with the sound on)." And the video went viral. Watch it here, yes with the sound on:
Hours later, Cricket Australia shared another post, this time referring to their previous post, asking "You've seen our viral video of Virat Kohli in the nets today - so how do you stop him?" Then legendary Ricky Ponting is seen talking about ways to plot the downfall of Indian captain.
Ponting had claimed that Kohli can be "rattled" and Australia should try to get under his skin rather than sitting back and be bullied by the Indian captain.
Earlier, former Australia batsman Dean Jones, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis have advised the Aussies against provoking Kohli.
The India skipper has mellowed down since the previous tour Down Under but when asked if he will be baiting Australia on the field, Ponting said: "Well, he might. I don't necessarily believe that he is someone you shouldn't try to get under his skin. I have seen him rattled.
"Mitchell Johnson definitely rattled him a few times with some good hostile bowling and some good hostile body language around him. So, I would not sit back and let anyone bully," Ponting told cricket.com.au.
"The way we go about playing cricket, especially at home, it is about good strong body language. That is the way Australians have always played their best."
Ponting, under whom Australia dominated world cricket, said it would be "rubbish" if the current side doesn't play with an aggressive mindset.
Last time the two teams met in a Test series Down Under, Kohli was in a great form. Kohli and his great rival Steve Smith dominated the series hitting hundreds at will.
But this time, the series will see a weekend Aussie side without the presence of banned Smith and David Warner following their involvement in the infamous ball-tampering controversy in South Africa.
