New Delhi: Wriddhiman Saha likes to bat in silence, measuring every stroke and counting every singles.
But on Sunday, a characteristically quiet Saha confronted Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood forcing umpires to have a word with the players.
It happened off the last ball of the 142nd over. Saha stood tall in back foot and blocked a Hazlewood short ball, which somehow irked the Aussie quick.
Hazlewood reached out to Saha in a strange way, and shared some words, then the players engaged in intense stare-down. But this time, Saha was more than prepared to do show his other side, and asked Hazlewood to bring it on.
Saha's batting partner Cheteshwar Pujara joined the melee and gave that friendly backing to Saha even as Aussie skipper Steve Smith approached umpire Nigel Llong.
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It certainly was one of the highlights of the day, which was dominated by the Indian batting duo, who shared a 199-run stand for seventh wicket.
Today, even the Test matches are played in a volatile environment, in pressure cooker situations, forcing players to do things which are ungentlemanly. And we have seen lot of those unwarranted actions in the current India-Australia series.
Australia, even after posting 451 runs in the first innings, were forced to play second fiddle in the Ranchi Test thanks to the Pujara-Saha show.
A deflated Aussie camp later ran into an inspired Ravindra Jadeja, who scored a quick fifty before taking two wickets late in the day.
Australia still trail India by 129 runs with 8 wickets in hand.
