Bollywood actor insults Kohli, Prithvi Shaw's replacement announced, and more - Cricket News Today, 17 December 2018

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The Australian cricket team are inching closer to victory in the ongoing second Test of the five-match series against India being held in Perth.

Chasing 287 for victory, the Indian top order failed to impress as they weren't able to stick around at the crease for a long time. At the of the day, India were at 112-5 with Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari at the crease.

Earlier in the day, after a wicketless first session, the Indian bowlers ripped through Australia's middle and lower order.

However, a 36-run partnership for the last wicket between Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood gave them the upper hand once again. They were eventually bowled out for 243 with Mohammed Shami picking up his career-best figures of 6-56.

There was a lot to talk about from the day's play and from other cricketing action around the world.

Let's take a look at the top news from today:

#1 Umpires step in to stop physical altercation between Kohli and Paine

The two captains were at each other's throats towards the end of the day yesterday and it continued today as well.

While taking a single when he was batting with Usman Khawaja, Kohli came in the path of the Australian captain just as he reached the crease. It might not have been deliberate but the umpire did step in and said a few words to the pair.

The stump mic did pick up what Chris Gaffaney had to say. "That's enough. Play the game, you guys are the captains," he was heard saying in audio broadcast by Channel 7.

Paine replied to that by saying, "Keep your cool, Virat."

#2 Shaw ruled out as India announce squad for 3rd and 4th Test

Prithvi Shaw

After injuring himself in the practice match, Prithvi Shaw has now been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against Australia.

In his place, Mayank Agarwal has been called up. Agarwal was recently included in India's squad for the Test series against the Windies back at home but did not play a single game.

Hardik Pandya, who has completely recovered from his injury, has been added to the squad as well.

Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal

#3 Tom Latham breaks multiple records en route historic knock

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - 1st Test: Day 3

New Zealand opening batsman Tom Latham made a career-best knock of 264 against Sri Lanka in the ongoing Test in Wellington. He carried his bat through the innings and faced 489 deliveries.

By doing so, he broke Alastair Cook's record of the highest score by a batsman carrying his bat. The Kiwis scored 578 in reply to Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 282 and are well on their way to victory.

"A little bit tired but the adrenaline is still running through me," Latham said after play, according to Stuff.co.nz.

"The best thing is you get a break every two hours. It's important to get to certain stages of the game, whether that's lunch or tea.

"The boys coming in managed to keep me going and kept me inside my gameplan which was probably the most pleasing," he concluded.

#4 IPL auction to take place tomorrow

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2nd Test between Australia and India, all eyes will turn to the much-awaited IPL auctions, which will take place in Jaipur from 15:30 IST.

There are as many as 346 players who will go under the hammer, including 227 Indians, with a few big names such as Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Jaydev Unadkat.

However, the auction will not be as big as the previous one with only 70 slots available to fill amongst the 8 teams.

You can find all the details about the auction here and follow the live blog as well.

#5 Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah takes a dig at Kohli

Naseeruddin Shah

Bollywood veteran Naseeruddin Shah referred to Indian captain Virat Kohli as the world's worst-behaved played. In a post on social media platform Facebook, Shah called him the best batsman but the worst behaved player as well. He also poked fun at a comment which Kohli had made a few weeks ago.

“Virat K is not only the worlds best batsman but also the worlds worst behaved player. His cricketing brilliance pales beside his arrogance and bad manners.. And I have no intention of leaving the country by the way,” read his post.

While a few people agreed with what the Bollywood actor had to say, most of the comments under the post were ones which backed the Indian cricket team captain.