The war of words between Tim Paine and Virat Kohli has been a constant topic of discussion in the ongoing second Test between India and Australia at Perth.

After a heated exchange in the last session on Day 3, the respective captain resumed their verbal battle on the fourth morning, forcing on-field umpire Chris Gaffaney to warn both the players.

As if the verbal duel with Kohli was not enough, the Australian captain on Monday (December 17) sledged India opener Murali Vijay by mocking the behaviour of his skipper.

“Murali, I know he [Virat Kohli] is your captain but you can’t seriously like him as a bloke,” stump mic. caught Paine as saying.

Earlier in the day, Paine and Kohli were seen indulging in a war of words after the latter decided to field close to the non-striker.

"You're the one that lost it yesterday. Why are you trying to be cool today?" Paine told Kohli.

"That's enough, that's enough," Gaffaney interrupted. "Come on, play the game. You guys are the captains. Tim, you're the captain."

After that Paine retorted: "We're just having a conversation. There's no swearing ... keep your cool Virat", while Kohli was seen having a gentle laugh.

Coming to the match, India bowled out Australia for 243 in the second innings, courtesy an impressive six-wicket haul from Mohammad Shami. Apart from Shami, Jasprit Bumrah clinched three wickets while Ishant Sharma picked up a wicket as well. Chasing 287 in the fourth innings, India were reeling at 112 for 5 at stumps on Day 4 with Australia in the driver’s seat to make a fine comeback.