The second Test between India and Australia was one of the best Test matches we have witnessed so far. It was a roller coaster ride spanning across four days and Day 4 was the most eventful one. The spirits were high as the second Test at Bengaluru was nicely poised between the two teams, it was anybody’s game in the first two sessions.
But, the incident which sparked controversy was Australian skipper Steven Smith’s wicket. The controversy will be known as ‘brainfade’ incident as Smith and Peter Handscomb tried to cheat after he was given out leg before wicket by Umesh Yadav. In order to be sure Smith turned to the pavilion to make sure whether he should review the decision or not.
Virat Kohli noticed it and came furiously at Smith whereas Cheteshwar Pujara tried to block his view. Thankfully, Umpire Nigel Llong noticed it as well and asked Smith to leave the field immediately. The incident not only infuriated Kohli but the former players in the commentary box as well.
Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar even said that we need to revisit Australia’s previous DRS and check whether they have been doing this for a while or not. Former players from both the countries showed their disappointment over the incident. Even former Australian skipper Michael Clarke could not stay behind.
Clarke told a leading news publishing website, “I want to find out from the Australian team if they’re using the DRS in that way, if they are then that is unacceptable. My concern and my worry is that when you look at the footage of what happened with Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb, it actually suggests to Smith to turn around and have a look at the support staff.”
He seemed overly concerned with this behaviour as he said, “If it is only a one-off, I don’t think that would have happened. The fact that Peter Handscomb is even thinking about telling the Australian captain to turn around and look to the support staff, I’ve got my concerns.”
Kohli did not hold back his emotions after the Test, he revealed in the post-match press conference, “I saw that two times happening when I was batting out there. I pointed it out to the umpire as well, that it has happened twice, that I’ve seen their players looking upstairs for confirmation, and that’s why the umpire was at him,”
“When he turned back, the umpire knew exactly what was going on, because we observed that, we told match referee also, and the umpires, that they’ve been doing that for the last three days and this has to stop,” he added.
