Australia vs India | Talking points from day four of the second Test

The ugliest shot fired in the brutal war of words transfixing the second Test has been uncovered. But it wasn’t Virat Kohli who had the last laugh.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 17: Tim Paine of Australia leaves the field at the end of play on during day four of the second match in the Test series between Australia and India at Perth Stadium on December 17, 2018 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Australia closed out day four firmly on top of India after a heated day’s play saw skippers Virat Kohli and Tim Paine locked in a fiery battle.

The pair jabbed at each other throughout the day but Paine eventually had the last laugh as his side left India at 5/112 at stumps with 175 runs left for victory.

Here were the major talking points from day four:

‘YOU’RE JUST A STAND-IN CAPTAIN’

Keep your enemies close.

Outside smacking leather over picket fences for a living, it appears India captain Virat Kohli teaches classes in humility as well.

Fresh titbits from the 30-year-old's spat with Aussie captain Tim Paine periodically emerged throughout day four with everyone from Mitchell Johnson to veteran cricket writer Robert Craddock revealing juicy nuggets from the pair’s clash.

Craddock revealed Kohli’s big-headed jab at Paine as the pair exchanged words on their way off the field on day three.

“I’m the best player in the world and you’re just a stand in captain,” he said.

No wonder why Paine played with extra ferocity today.

The usually quiet-spoken skipper delivered one of the all time great one-liners behind the stumps late on day four. The Aussie gloveman was heard having a chat to the not out batsman Murali Vijay after Kohli was sent packing by Nathan Lyon for 17.

“I know he’s your captain, but you can’t seriously like him as a bloke,” Paine was heard saying on the stump microphone.

Paine, arguably, had the last laugh.

LYON’S MAGIC EXPOSES INDIA BLUNDER

India threatened to take the run chase by the horns and send Australia into the fifth day on the back foot, but that was before Tim Paine tossed the ball to Nathan Lyon.

Fresh off taking 5-67 in the first innings, the GOAT returned with a vengeance and took down a dangerous-looking Virat Kohli before the Indian skipper kicked into gear.

Kohli was looking solid on his way to 17, smoking two boundaries and creaming a handful of drives through the infield, but it all came to an end when the 30-year-old pressed forward and sent an edge floating to Usman Khawaja at first slip.

Unsurprisingly, Australia celebrated like it was 1999 when Nathan Lyon took the prized wicket of the world’s top ranked bat.

Sorry if this has been blatantly obvious for a while but the penny’s just dropped for me that Nathan Lyon is now clearly Australia’s best player (suspended blokes not included)

— Nathan Templeton (@nathantemp7) December 17, 2018

The Aussie off-spinner’s success on the perilous drop-in pitch highlighted what may be seen as India’s biggest blunder of the summer: Refusing to pick a spinner in Perth.

The tourists backed down on picking the world’s highest ranked spinner, Ravi Jadeja, after Optus Stadium revealed its green deck last week. While India’s four-pronged pace attack found success on the unpredictable pitch — Mohammed Shami’s 6-56 was world-class — it’s hard not to ponder on the damage Jadeja could have inflicted.

Luckily for Australia, Lyon has a crumbling minefield to bowl on tomorrow morning with the tourists still needing 175 runs with just five wickets and a shaky tail on hand.

The GOAT’s dominant performance in Perth even had Sachin Tendulkar clapping.

“Australia have got a very special spinner in @NathLyon421. He has got terrific variations and uses the pace and bounce from the pitch to extract maximum value,” Tendulkar tweeted.

INDIA’S UGLY STAT

Australia’s lower order put together a heroic effort to inch the home side’s lead to just under 300 before the fourth innings, making it the seventh match in a row India have conceded over 75 runs to the tail.

Handy cameos from from Mitchell Starc (6, 14), Josh Hazlewood (17) and Pat Cummins (19) throughout the match could prove the difference late on day five should India’s final two batsmen pull off a marathon tomorrow and make it within sniffing distance of the target.

This is now seven Test matches in a row where India have allowed the opposition No.8-11s to contribute 75+ runs in the match. #AUSvIND

— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) December 17, 2018

KHAWAJA’S UNUSUAL HALF-CENTURY

It was a case of slow and steady for Usman Khawaja, who reached his 14th Test half century from 155 balls — his slowest ever in Test cricket.

The No. 3 clipped Ishant Sharma through mid-wicket for three to bring up the milestone and his first 50 of the series.

Khawaja has been far from his fluent best this series and this knock was no different, but he fought through it to post what could turn out to be a matchwinning 72.

Usually a big boundary hitter, the left-hander shelved most of his attacking strokes as he knuckled down and put a high price on his wicket.

“I’ve never seen him been so restricted in scoring,” Michael Slater said in commentary for Channel 7.

As the stats below show, rarely has Khawaja battled so hard and scored so slowly during a lengthy Test innings.

Usman Khawaja was getting dotted up in the first innings, building pressure. His dot-ball percentage today is 84%, down from 92% on Day One, but he is playing almost exactly the same number of rotating shots (15% compared to 16%) - still room for improvement. #AUSvIND

— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) December 17, 2018

Usman Khawaja has averaged 17.4% false shots in this innings. He's never batted this long in a Test knock whilst edging and missing the ball more often. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/MOLcVsKI7e

— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) December 17, 2018

He was eventually removed by a ball that spat of the pitch and caught his outside edge after a stoic innings that lasted 213 deliveries.