The to-and-fro verbal battle between Tim Paine and Virat Kohli has been the main event of the Perth Test, but Marcus Harris has provided an amusing undercard that has gone unnoticed.
Kohli supposedly bragged to Paine about his No.1 world ranking while labelling him a ''stand-in skipper'', sparking an ongoing war of words that almost turned physical when the Indian skipper got in the face of his rival.
Inspired by his fearless leader, Harris wanted a piece of the action and got in touch with his creative side during the final over of day four.
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The Australian youngster was fielding at short leg and was praying for a miracle finish on the last ball of the day, advising Indian keeper Rishabh Pant to deliberately give up his wicket so he could enjoy the Perth nightlife.
"If you get out you can go out and disco tonight. Good circuit on a Monday night in Perth,'' Harris quipped.
🕺🕺🕺@MarcusHarris14 to Pant: "If you get out you can go out and disco tonight. Good circuit on a Monday night in Perth." 🤣🤣🤣#AUSvIND #FoxCricket pic.twitter.com/Mg2pSfLHxa
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) December 17, 2018
Harris' banter received the tick of approval from former Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson and England great Michael Vaughan.
“This is good stuff. Good humour,” Johnson wrote on Twitter.
Vaughan said: “Love this.”
Even Nathan Lyon joined in on the fun, suggesting potential holiday destinations to Pant.
Where's your ideal Christmas holiday? @NathLyon421 recommends Hamilton Island 😂#FoxCricket #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/yOj5uMZaA8
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) December 18, 2018
The animated Pant came to life in the Adelaide Test where his energy was picked up on the stump mics, barking at his bowlers in a bid to fire them up.
This Rishabh Pant is a darling. He is paying back Australia in the same coin.pic.twitter.com/iKSqZDYqKb
— Soumyadipta (@Soumyadipta) December 10, 2018
Unfortunately, the Paine-Kohli battle will have to wait until the Boxing Day Test to reignite after the Indian captain was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for the seventh time in his career on 17 runs.
Paine, who suggested Kohli wasn't the nicest of characters to Indian teammate Murali Vijay, looks set to have the last laugh in Perth with Australia on track to level the series score at 1-1.
