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The impassioned-personified thoughts are not only restricted to worldly affairs, but have their branches spread across disciplines of life, sports being one of them. In a country that is traditionally a non-sporting one, we have embraced the game of cricket with open minds. As fans, we dishearten ourselves when a team is on the wrong side of the result, but we also exuberantly celebrate every win like it is your own.

With the India versus Australia ODI series at our doorsteps, once again a billion or so animated fans will rise and uncap bottles of sentiments that fuel our own wellbeing.

Australia since time immemorial have been a fiercest competitor. We have adored and despised them with every passing series and, with the advent of IPL, the animosity on the field has gone down drastically.

Despite this, players have fought tooth and nail to prove their superiority against one another. In this episode of heated exchanges, we look back at India and Australia, who have been involved in quite a few temper-flaring moments in the past.

Virat Kohli vs Glenn Maxwell: As recent as March, Maxwell mocked the Indian skipper Kohli after the latter injured his shoulder while fielding. This was taken in bad taste, eventually triggering tensions. Kohli did reply in his usual manner by doing a Maxwell on David Warner s dismissal in the second innings. He is not the one to back down.

Rohit Sharma vs David Warner: Language is generally known to bridge the gap, but in this instance, it laid foundation to an altercation. Warner went into a verbal spat with Rohit, who ran a cheeky single to a ball that ricocheted off him.

Warner, in sly, asked to Rohit to speak in English, which the later obliged with some unkindly words.

Gautam Gambhir vs Shane Watson: In 2008, a tense moment cropped up on the 1st day of the Kotla Test when Gambhir and Watson got involved in an on-field scuffle. Watson apparently provoked Gambhir, while he was taking a run.

Gambhir nudged his shoulder on Watson’s arm during his completion of a second run.

S Sreesanth vs Ricky Ponting: Drafted in at the last moment for the 2011 World Cup, Sreesanth – known for his temper – took on Ponting in a warm-up tie. Denied a caught-behind chance, Sreesanth signalled Ponting the L (loser) sign with his fingers. Not to bog down, Ponting responded with some flowery words himself.

Rahul Dravid vs Michael Slater: One of the most controversial moments came in the 2001 Mumbai Test. Slater caught Dravid playing an unlikely pull shot. The catch looked dicey, as Slater took it a few millimetres off the ground. An unconvinced Dravid refused to leave the field even after umpire gave him out.

This riled Slater, who argued with the umpire and later abused Dravid. Slater was later reprimanded for his conduct.

Shikhar Dhawan vs Shane Watson: The last time Australia were in India for an ODI series, Dhawan made fun of Watson. Dhawan mocked Watson, who suffered a hamstring injury while bowling. He collected the ball at mid-off and hobbled towards the bowler much to the batsman’s disgust.

Virat Kohli vs Mitchell Johnson: It was a Test series that evolved Kohli from a boy to man. Kohli took on a rampaging Johnson head-on. The flashpoint came at Adelaide when Johnson threw a ball towards the stump that hit Kohli and saw both players come face-to-face.

No words were exchanged but vicious anger loomed across the participants.

Harbhajan Singh vs Andrew Symonds: One of the darkest episodes of India-Australia rivalry came in 2008. Harbhajan and Symonds were involved in an on-pitch bout. Allegedly, Singh had said Teri Maa Ki to Symonds. However, the all-rounder mistook it as the ‘big monkey’, and thus it led to the infamous Monkeygate scandal.

Ahead of the first match of the five ODI series, both Steven Smith and Kohli have called for peaceful and a healthy series. Given the past history of both these side, it was highly unlikely that one will not see any verbal spats between the two sides.