India's first-innings hero Virat Kohli has slammed Australia paceman Ben Hilfenhaus for his role in a slegding row late on day three of the fourth Vodafone Test at Adelaide Oval.
Australia wobbled to 3-50 at stumps, but still enjoyed a healthy 386-run lead after India were skittled for 272 on an action-packed day of cricket, not short of controversy with Kohli, who scored a splendid 116 on a Republic Day he will always remember, in the thick of it.
The incident took place at the end of the 90th over of India's second innings, which was bowled by Peter Siddle, with Kohli on 99.
With three balls left in Siddle's over and Kohli desperate for one run to bring up his maiden Test ton, the young batsman swung hard and missed two in a row outside his off-stump before almost running himself out on the last ball.
That was when the verbals took place, with the competitive Kohli branding Hilfenhaus the main culprit.
"Hilfenhaus said something to me which was totally unnecessary ... out of the blue," Kohli fumed.
"He wasn't even bowling or doing anything. I survived that run out (on 99) and he just said something which I can't obviously say in a press conference."
"I gave it back to him saying 'you didn't even have anything to do with it, why would you do that'."
"Ishant (Sharma) and I both came together and started saying stuff to them and they got really pissed with that."
"I usually play my cricket like that - I like to give it back. Whatever happened, at the end of the day, I'm pretty happy with what I did."
Kohli praised David Warner - whom he clashed with during the Perth Test - for congratulating him upon reaching his century, as well as a 'mature' Ricky Ponting, who entered the fray to calm Kohli during the clash with Hilfenhaus.
In general though, he felt Australia's on-field chirping was over the top.
"They sledge when they get frustrated," Kohli said. "Obviously it was hot out there."
"Constantly they were sledging the players so they could spoil our concentration."
"During that partnership they were really, really loud."
As well as copping sledging from the opposition, Kohli felt he received an unfair amount of abuse from the 'drunk' crowd when fielding on the boundary.
"It is really, really frustrating at times because they say stuff which shouldn't be said on a cricket field," Kohli said.
"We go out there to play, not to get abused like that."
"If they've come here to enjoy the game of cricket they should do that, not get drunk and abuse players."
"It's not fair on the players because (if) the players say anything they're fined and banned, but the crowd can just say anything and go home."
Kohli said the barbs from the Australia Day crowd - which at 35,081 was a record single day attendance for Australia-India matches at this venue - made the century that much sweeter.
"To give it back verbally and to score a hundred is even better," he said.
"We don't go out there to take any kind of stuff from anyone."
"In Sydney they were after me because I wasn't scoring and today they were pissed because I got 100. It (abuse) hasn't changed much but the reasons have changed."
While India are considered extremely long odds to save this Test, Kohli isn't even thinking about escaping with a draw, he believes the tourists can still conjure a miracle win.
"We're thinking the other way," he said. "If we get two, three wickets early on in the morning, last time around (2003) in the Adelaide Test, Australia scored 400 on the first day and we chased it down in the fourth innings."
"The ball's turning square now so with (R) Ashwin bowling well, you never know."
"If they lose two, three wickets early in the morning, we'll still have two days of the game to try and chase down the score they set for us."
