Score a ton, Mumbai Indians will buy him: Rohit Sharma on Tim Paine’s banter

The second day of the Boxing Day Test witnessed a hilarious sledging contest between Rohit Sharma and Australia cricket skipper Tim Paine. In a conversation that was recorded by the stump microphone, Paine is trying to distract Rohit with some hilarious banter as the batsman prepares to face Nathan Lyon. Paine was trying to break Rohit’s concentration and he egged him to hit a six off Lyon. “It’s been a toss up for me between Royals and Indians, and if Rohit hits a six here, I am changing to Mumbai,” Paine was heard saying to Finch. However, before the start of day 3, Rohit admitted that he had heard the banter and he had a quick laugh with Ajinkya Rahane, who is the captain of the Rajasthan Royals side.

“I heard that but when I'm batting I just focus on the job at hand. 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,” Rohit quipped. Rohit Sharma is the current captain of the Mumbai Indians side and he has led the franchise to three IPL titles in addition to a Champions League T20 title in 2013.

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Rohit scored his 10^th fifty and curbed his attacking instincts but the Mumbai batsman was troubled by a back injury and he added that the injury needed to be managed properly. “I had a chat with Virat because he's had it before. He says it's a recurring issue. I didn't feel anything yesterday but I have to be really careful,” Rohit said.

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Australia struggled to handle Jasprit Bumrah, who took a career-best haul of 6/33 as they were shot out for 151, giving India a massive 292-run lead. India did not enforce the follow-on and they were reduced to 54/5, with Pat Cummins taking 4/10. Rohit failed in the second innings as he edged a short ball from Josh Hazlewood to depart for 5. India ended the day with a lead of 346 runs and they would be eyeing an early declaration in order to take an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the series.