Australia vs India 2018-19: Rohit Sharma's epic reply to Tim Paine's 'friendly' banter

What's the story?

'Hitman' Rohit Sharma has come up with an epic reply to Australian skipper, Tim Paine's 'friendly' banter that took place during the second day's play of the Boxing Day Test. Paine had earlier chirped, "If Rohit hits a six here I'm changing to Mumbai".

Here is the video of that incident.

"If Rohit hits a six here I'm changing to Mumbai" 😂#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/JFdHsAl84b

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 27, 2018

The Background

India won the first Test match at the Adelaide Oval by 31 runs after which the hosts levelled the series 1-1, winning the second Test at Perth's Optus Stadium by 146 runs. The action then shifted to the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the much-anticipated, traditional Boxing Day Test match. Indian skipper, Virat Kohli made three changes to the XI before opting to bat first on winning the toss.

Mayank Agarwal earned a Test cap while Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja returned to the Test XI. Courtesy debutant Mayank Agarwal's sublime 76, Cheteshwar Pujara's century (106 off 319 balls) and half-centuries from Virat Kohli (82 off 204 balls) and Rohit Sharma (63 off 114 balls), India posted a mammoth 443-7 (declared) in the first innings.

Meanwhile, the hosts were bundled out for just 151 runs, with Jasprit Bumrah being the chief tormentor with the ball for India, finishing with figures of 6/33.

The heart of the matter

During the second day's play, Paine was heard saying to Aaron Finch, "It’s been a toss up for me between Royals and Indians, and if Rohit hits a six here, I am changing to Mumbai".

Nevertheless, Rohit was unmoved by Paine's comments. Prior to the start of third day's play, Rohit, who admitted to having heard Paine's banter told, "I was hearing that but when I'm batting I just focus on the job at hand. But I had a chat with Ajinkya Rahane and I joked that if he (Paine) gets a hundred here, I will put in a word about him to my boss at Mumbai Indians and we'll buy him. Looks like he's a fan of Mumbai".

What's next?

With a 292-run first innings lead, India has a bright chance to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match Test series, but the hosts will be determined to turn things around in the second innings. There is plenty of exciting action to follow at the MCG!