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Send-offs, sledging and silence in Mohali

The hostilities between aggressors Virat Kohli and Ben Stokes was again a sideshow on day two of the third Test

Ben Stokes has responded in the best fashion possible after being sanctioned for his exchange with Virat Kohli.

The Durham allrounder was reprimanded by the ICC for his role in the verbal confrontation with India’s captain after being stumped in the first innings.

Quick Single: Stokes reprimanded for Kohli exchange

No action was taken against Kohli. However, Stokes arguably had the last laugh, albeit a muffled one, by taking the Indian captain's wicket on this second day.

Stokes was deemed to have used “obscene, offensive or insulting” language towards Kohli after his dismissal on the first day here in Mohali.

Buttler inspires, Stokes fires but India hold edge

No wonder then he responded with a hand-over-mouth celebration then after inducing an edge Kohli sent to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow during an evening session that ended with India trailing by 12 on 6-271.  

Stokes no doubt feels hard done by after his punishment, receiving another demerit point to add to the one he gained for a verbal spat with Sabbir Rahman during the Second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka last month.

If he picks up two more points in the next two years he will be banned for a Test or two limited-overs games – whichever comes first.

That might even fall during next year’s Ashes – which would be a huge fillip for Australia.

Day one: Wickets fall and tempers flare in Mohali

Yet if there’s one lesson Australia might take from this series then it is that Kohli arguably seems to fly under the radar when it comes to being scrutinised for his aggressive on-field demeanour.

Kohli appeared to be the provocateur during his heated on-field exchange with Stokes on day one here.

Quick Single: New-look Australia begin with victory

Polite and cool off the field as he plays up to the tag of India’s golden boy in the post-Sachin Tendulkar era, Kohli is an altogether different man on the field.

In any other situation his decision to send what were obviously a few choice words the England man’s way would probably be a bad move. Stokes, a player who broke a hand punching a locker after his dismissal during a T20 international against West Indies in Barbados in 2014, is a guy with a short fuse at the best of times.

As Kohli goaded him following his stumping by Parthiv Patel in Mohali, he turned back towards the Indian huddle with the expression of a man who would have happily given his tormentor the same treatment as that Bajan locker.

Stokes wasn’t the only one who was unimpressed by Kohli’s behaviour, with Indian great Sunil Gavaskar saying on BBC’s Test Match Special: “Whatever was said, it really needs to be nipped in the bud.

"You have got the batsman out, why do you need to give him a send off?" Gavaskar added. "Why say anything? Just congratulate your team-mates and Parthiv Patel for a fine piece of work on his comeback.

"But why say anything to the batsman? He’s upset as it is. Then what, rub salt into the wounds? It’s the one part of cricket I do not approve of at all.”

Kohli was spared earlier this week when he escaped an International Cricket Council probe following the emergence of footage from the first Test against England in Rajkot that looked suspiciously close to that which landed Faf Du Plessis with a fine during the Hobart Test against Australia.

Quick Single: Kohli won't face ICC investigation

The Indian skipper has protested his innocence against accusations of applying an “artificial substance” to the ball. Indeed, the evidence is inconclusive. Yet the fact the footage of his actions in Rajkot emerged after the five-day ICC window for action meant he avoided the inconvenience of an official probe.

However, the sense of injustice following his latest brush with authority leaves a bad taste in some circles. Stokes is no angel and he no doubt deserves his punishment. But the fact Kohli got off scot free means it’s fair to say England, who did not comment officially, were not overly impressed with the ICC’s decision.

Quick Single: Day one - Opportunity lost for England

Meanwhile, the attack on anything approaching challenging questions regarding Kohli during the post-match press conferences in this series continues.

Both Umesh Yadav and Jonny Bairstow – who hit 89 on the first day of this Test – were asked about the Stokes-Kohli exchange. Both pleaded ignorance.

Yet that did not stop Indian journalists complaining Kohli is being victimised by the English press corps.

It seems Kohli, who justifiably had questions to answer on the Rajkot incident and on what happened here on day one in Mohali, is immune from being asked the tough questions by local media.

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