‘You live by the sword; you die by the sword’. Known for his overly-aggressive animated behaviour on the field, Virat Kohli was on the receiving end, when the Indian captain came to bat in the fourth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on Thursday. A mixed reception by the Aussies welcomed Kohli after Mayank Agarwal’s wicket!

The mixed reaction from the crowd was perhaps the response to Virat Kohli’s comments made in the press conference on the eve of the final test. Kohli had said, “When you walk into bat you feel like 40,000 people want your wicket, not just the eleven guys on the field, so we understand as cricketers how difficult it is and purely just to take that challenge on, we want to win here.” Tim Paine vs Rishabh Pant: ‘I Wish I Played Like Him When I Was His Age,’ Says Australian Captain Before IND vs AUS Final Test 2019.

A similar comment was made by the Indian skipper Virat Kohli, when the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison had hosted the captains of both the team. Kohli had said, “When you step into that stadium, and you walk into bat, the whole stadium wants to get you out.”

However, the Indian captain found support from unprecedented quarters, when former Australia captain Ricky Ponting came to his defence. Ponting said that the people should respect him (Virat Kohli) and that he had told the same during the Perth Test too.

Ponting said, “If it was booing then it's absolutely disgraceful. I said that in the Perth Test as well. Show some respect.” Virat Kohli Juggles with the Ball While Waiting for Tea During India vs Australia, Day 1, Sydney Test; Umpire Takes Away the Ball (Watch Video).

At the end of Day 1 of the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Indian team was in a driver’s seat with 303/4 on the scoreboard. Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari were on the crease unbeaten on 130* and 39* runs respectively.

India is currently 2-1 up in the 4-match Test series. It will be interesting to see if Virat Kohli and Co. can script history in Australia or not. Stay tuned with LatestLY for all the latest updates about India vs Australia 2018-19 Series!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 03, 2019 09:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).