Watch | Virat Kohli teases Australian fans with sandpaper gesture after Smith's dismissal at SCG

A fired up Virat Kohli emptied his pockets and imitated events from the infamous 2018 sandpaper scandal which reamins a black spot in Australian cricket, in a gesture directed towards the Australian crowd.

Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has never shied away from expressing his emotions on the field, with some of his antics often being labelled as too aggressive. The star batter, who likes to wear his heart on his sleeve, has often courted controversies for his gestures and actions on the field.

Things heat up even more in Australia, as the Aussie fans always seem to bring out the fiery side of Kohli, owing to the intense cricketing rivalry between the two nations. Day three of the final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) saw exactly that, as a charged-up Kohli was seen engaging in a banter with the home crowd.

Australia were given a target of 162 by India on Sunday in the final Test of the 5-match series at the SCG. Pacer Prasidh Krishna gave a promising start to India, picking up the wickets of Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in quick succession.

Smith was dismissed after scoring 4 runs - just one short of completing the milestone of 10,000 runs in Test cricket. Sensing a glimmer of hope, a fired up Virat Kohli emptied his pockets and imitated events from the infamous 2018 sandpaper scandal which remains a black spot in Australian cricket, in a gesture directed towards the Australian crowd.

A video capturing Kohli's actions after Smith's dismissal has since been doing the rounds on social media.

The 'sandpapergate scandal', as it is referred to now, occured during the third Test of Australia's tour of South Africa in 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was found tampering with the ball using a sandpaper as was evident from video footage. Following further investigation, the then Australian captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were handed a one-year ban from international cricket as punishment.

Getting back to the Sydney Test, Australia were able to win the match quite comprehensively in the end. They chased down the 162-run target in 27 overs with Travis Head (34 not out) and Beau Webster (39 not out) taking the team home comfortably. India lost the five-match series 1-3, with their only win on the tour coming in the first Test in Perth.

(With PTI inputs)