India vs Australia 2017: Four Controversial Moments Between Two Sides!

Feb 21, 2017 at 12:12 PM

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India vs Australia 2017: Four Controversial Moments Between Two Sides!

India and Australia have had some memorable moments on the field over the years, but not all were sweet. There have been plenty of occasions in past when players from both the sides were either involved in an altercation or were left dejected by some woeful decisions by the officiators, both on and off the field.

Virat Kohli led India will host Australia for the four-match Tests, which begins in Pune on February 23. However, before the hyped up series commences, it’s time to have look at the four moments which rocked the cricket field, but for all bad reasons.

4. When Sachin Tendulkar was WRONGLY adjudged LBW, Two Times! 

Glenn McGrath dismissed Sachin Tendulkar in one of the most awkward manners in Test cricket history.

Of the many sour instances recorded between both the two teams, Sachin Tendulkar’s LBW of Glenn McGrath in 1999 Test series fetched bulk of the attention. In the second innings of first Tests at Adelaide, McGrath attempted a bouncer, which eventually didn’t rise as expected and thus stayed low of the pitch. Batting, at the striker’s end, Sachin swiftly bent down in order to dodge the rising delivery, but the ball hit his shoulder on his way.

Even from the farthest of the visionary point, one won’t assume that ball would hit any part of the wicket, but Australian umpire Daryl Harper didn’t think so, and surprisingly raised his finger, leaving the batsman and fans in complete disarray. The decision, later on, was termed as the worst by many experts.

However, it wasn’t the only instance which stirred chaos among Indian fans. During India’s 2003/04 tour to Australia, West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor gave Sachin out off Jason Gillespie’s rising delivery during the first innings of Brisbane Test. Such was the disappointment of the call, that even Tony Grieg in the commentary box labelled it as a dreadful decision.

3. The infamous Homework-Gate Scandal 

Shane Watson was among the four players who were suspended for one Test against India during 2013 tour to India.

During the 2013 Border-Gavaskar trophy in India, Australia was made to swallow a hard pill of a series whitewash, their first major blow against an Asian team.

India, in the four-match series, were leading two-nil before the then Aussie coach, Mickey Arthur suspended four of the visitors’ players, including vice-captain Shane Watson in what later became the homework gate ahead of the Mohali Test.

Post the decision, Watson left the tour midway for the birth of his first child, as insisted by Cricket Australia, but later returned and also captained in the fourth match in Delhi.

The omission of four players was believed to have unsettled the Aussie dressing room, resulting in the slump in their game. Later on, Arthur was sacked from the coaching post.

2. Virat Kohli vs Mitchell Johnson

Mitchell Johnson hits Virat Kohli during Melbourne Test in 2014/15.

During India’s 2014/15 tour to Australia, Virat Kohli and Mitchell Johnson made headlines, not for scoring runs or taking wickets, but for sharing an unhealthy relation on the field. For the onlookers, the banter between the duo was exciting to watch.

However, the boundaries weren’t crossed until Johnson threw a ball back to Virat Kohli during Melbourne Test, which hit the batsman on his shoulders and resulted in him falling down. Things did heat up after that, as later words were also exchanged and umpires had to eventually intervene to put a stop on the matter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9tn97K1x28

Not only this, there came many moments in the game and also in the following matches, where both these stalwarts happen to taken on each other, verbally. As in the Melbourne game, Virat went on to score an impressive 169 before nicking one to the keeper off Johnson only.

  1. The ‘Unforgettable’ Sydney Test
Umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson were poor in their decision making during India’s Test match against Australia in Sydney in 2007/08 tour.

Probably, the darkest phase in the rich history among these two nations came during the second Test match in Sydney in 2007/08 tour. From the outset, things didn’t fall in the right place for visitors.

From Andrew Symonds getting lucky over nicking a ball to the keeper to third umpire helping his cause by adjudging him not out on two occasions when replays showed his foot was never in the crease during a stumping referral, Indians were all but devastated in the end.

Adding misery to their woes, spinner Harbhajan Singh was also handed a three-match ban after Symonds accused the spinner of racial comment. Not one, not two. but more than of a handful of decisions went against India and had half of them been given out, the course of the match would have been different.

Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson, two of the umpires in the game, were later barred from officiating any further in the series after BCCI lodged a complaint to ICC. Australia though won the match by 122 runs but left a deep scare for their less than graceful behaviour in the minds of fans across the cricketing globe.

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