WATCH: Why the ‘f****** cheat(s)’ aren’t friends anymore

Indian skipper Virat Kohli said he no longer considered Australian cricketers as friends after winning a tense Test series marked by bad blood in Dharamsala on Tuesday.

Kohli, who remarked before the series that he was “really good friends” with some Australian players, said things had changed during the bitter contest between the world’s top two sides.

Here’s why.

‘The f****** cheat’

India’s Murali Vijay found himself at the centre of a fresh controversy in the fourth and final Test after claiming a catch that replays showed had spilled onto the grass.

TV footage caught Smith fuming angrily in the dressing room and appearing to call Vijay a “f****** cheat”.

“I have been pretty intense throughout this series. I really wanted to do well for the team. At times I have been in my own bubble and have let my emotions slip. I apologise for that,” said Smith.

War of words

The animosity then spilled over into the series-decider with Ravindra Jadeja and Aussie wicketkeeper Matthew Wade engaging in a verbal fight Monday that was caught by stump microphones.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted the footage, complete with stump microphone recordings, on its website and social media channels.

“How come you don’t get picked outside India? Why is that? Why don’t you get picked?” Wade is heard saying.

Smith then went further by quipping “this’ll be his last Test for a while, they’re going away (to play)”.

“You don’t deserve to play anywhere but here because you’re useless,” he barked.

Jadeja went on to score 63 and downplayed the incident.

“Nothing happened. You know and I know what happens on the ground in these situations. I was just telling Wade that we will meet and have dinner once you guys have lost the Test,” he said.

Glenn Maxwell mocks Kohli’s injury

The Indian captain injured his shoulder after diving to save a boundary in the third Test in Ranchi during the same innings that the aggressive Maxwell scored a maiden Test century.

Clearly cocky after his fine innings, the Aussie all-rounder couldn’t contain himself after he also saved a boundary later in the drawn match.

The DRS call that started it all

Kolhi actually started the tension after the second Test by accusing Smith of repeatedly abusing the decision review system.

The Australian captain is clearly seen looking towards the dressing room for a clue as to whether he should’ve reviewed the LBW decision against him.

Smith’s batting partner at the time, Peter Handscomb, then tried to take the blame off his skipper by saying it as him that encouraged Smith to look upstairs because he “wasn’t aware of the rules”.

Critics questioned Kohli’s conduct under pressure, and also his form in the series, with the right-hander scoring just 46 runs from five innings.

Tensions were exacerbated after he was dubbed “the Donald Trump of sport” in an Australian newspaper, and former Test bowler Geoff Lawson accused him of acting like “your worst behaved player”.

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