India batsman Virat Kohli has claimed that he has "no reason to respect" Mitchell Johnson after clashing with the Australia pace bowler on the third day of the third Test.
Kohli scored 169 on a day when he regularly exchanged words with Johnson, who also sparked an angry reaction from the batsman when he struck him while throwing the ball at the stumps shortly after one of his deliveries.
"They were calling me a spoilt brat. I said, 'maybe that's the way I am - you guys hate me, and I like that'. It worked in my favour I guess," Kohli, who has scored three centuries in the series, told reporters.
"I was really annoyed with him hitting me with the ball. I told him that's not on and to 'try and hit the stumps next time, not my body'. You have got to send the right message across. I am not there to take to some unnecessary words or chat from someone.
"I respect quite a few of them. But someone who does not respect me, I've got no reason to respect him."
India finished the day on 462-8 in reply to Australia's first innings of 530.
Callum Mulvihill
