Indian cricket fans give Australia an ugly nickname following hugely controversial Boxing Day Test moment
Pat Cummins rushed to third umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat’s defense after a controversial moment led to Indian fans giving the Australian side a final day of the Boxing Day Test.
The thrilling match came down to the final day when Nathan Lyon dismissed Mohammed Siraj in the 79th to seal a 184-run win for the hosts.
But earlier in the day, anger erupted around the MCG when Yashasvi Jaiswal was controversially released following a review.
The moment even caught the attention of the vice-president of the Official Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rajeev Shukla, who said, “Jaiswal was clearly not out.”
Pat Cummins, who took three wickets on the final day, threw a shorter delivery to the 23-year-old batsman, who appeared to wedge the ball behind him to Alex Carey.
The Australian keeper took the catch, sparking massive celebrations from the home side after Cummins’ side struggled to put away the Indian opener, who had built up a score of 84 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was released on Monday afternoon following a controversial DRS review
Pat Cummins’ side had reversed their on-field decision not to go out after the ball appeared to take a nick off Jaiswal’s glove
On review, Snicko showed no spike as the ball passed his glove, but the third umpire ruled the ball had deflected.
Umpire Joel Wilson initially ruled the catch not out before Australia reviewed the call. The assessments showed that the ball had made a noticeable deviation after passing Jaiswal’s glove, although Snicko was inconclusive in his findings and showed no spike.
Third umpire Sharfuddoula then overturned the on-field decision, leaving India hanging at 7/140.
Five overs later, Akash Deep also found himself at the center of a DRS controversy after appearing to have hit the ball to Travis Head after a Scott Boland delivery.
The referee had again ruled no, with Australia choosing to review the call. This time Snicko seemed to peak, with the third referee then overturning the on-field review and giving Deep his marching orders.
Many fans have taken to social media to speak out about Jaiswal’s dismissal, while some India fans at the MCG chanted ‘Cheaters!’ heard singing. Cheaters!’ as a nickname for the Australian team.
The moment has sparked widespread commentary in the cricket community, with Cummins defending the third umpire during his post-match press conference.
‘I think it was clear he had been hit. “I heard a noise, saw a deviation, so it was absolutely certain it hit him,” the Australian captain told reporters.
“As soon as we referenced it, you saw him drop his head and basically acknowledge that he had hit it.
It was then given out as Jaiswal protested his case, appearing indignant after the decision was overturned by the third umpire.
Further assessments revealed that Jaiswal had significantly changed the direction in which the ball was traveling
‘You could see on the screen that he was hitting. Ultra-edge, I don’t think anyone has full confidence in it and didn’t really show much of it, but luckily there was other evidence that showed it was out.”
The moment came at a crucial part of the match, with Australia having already dismissed Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli for 33 runs inside the first 30 overs of the innings.
Sharma, meanwhile, appeared to agree with Cummins after the match.
“I don’t know what to think about that because the technology didn’t show anything, but to the naked eye it looked like he was touching something,” the Indian cricket captain said.
However, he questioned the use of the technology before again admitting the ball appeared to have a tap.
“I don’t know how the referees want to use the technology, but honestly I think he touched the ball,” Sharma added.
‘It’s about the technology, which we know is not 100 percent. More often than not, we are the ones on the wrong side. That’s where we’re unhappy.’
BCCI vice-president Shukla went to X to express his complaints about the decision.
He wrote: ‘Yashaswi jayaswal was clearly not gone. The third referee should have taken note of what the technology suggested. While the third umpire must have good reasons over the ruling court umpire.’
Sunil Gavaskar also emphasized that India will feel disadvantaged by the use of snicko.
“I think there will be conversations maybe with maybe the match referee and the referees: if the technology can’t be used, why have it at all?” the Indian cricket legend told Channel 7.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla also termed the decision as ‘clearly unknown’ on social media
Australia, meanwhile, celebrated wildly after removing Jaiswal after posting a score of 84
Cummins came to the defense of the third umpire and said he thought it was ‘obvious’ the India star hit the ball
‘That is something that will certainly be the question as far as the Indians are concerned. Yes, it looked like it had gone off the handle, but it could be an optical illusion.”
Interestingly, Jaiswal was seen walking past Head as the pair appeared to exchange words. Head looked quizzically at the opener, as if asking for his opinion on the matter, before walking away and pumping his fists in the air. The Channel 7 commentator was heard saying: ‘This is Jaiswal walking past Travis’ head and I think he’s admitted it.’
Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting was firm in his stance on the issue.
“They can make of it what they want, that was clearly a bull’s eye,” Ponting said.
“I called it at the time, Jaiswal started walking, as soon as the Aussies went up he started taking a few steps further.
‘Snicko didn’t prove it was right, but the referee picked up the deflection, froze it where the ball was at the end of the glove and as far as I’m concerned there was no argument whatsoever.’
Simon Taufel, also a member of Channel 7’s expert team for the match, agreed with Ponting.
“In my opinion the decision was known,” he said.
Rohit Sharma admitted that Jaiswal appeared to touch the ball as it passed over his glove, but he was equally confused by the use of snicko.
Sunil Gavaskar also questioned the use of snicko and asked, if umpires are not going to use it ‘then why do they have it at all?’
Ex-Aussie captain Ricky Ponting was outspoken in his views, stating that ‘there was no argument whatsoever’
‘The third referee ultimately made the right decision. With the technology protocols we do indeed have a hierarchy of redundancy and if the umpire sees a clear deflection of the bat, there is no need to go further and use another form of technology to prove it.
“The clear deflection is compelling evidence.”
While Nitish Kumar Reddy produced a century in the first innings, it was Jaiswal who was the pick of the Indian batters in Melbourne, scoring 82 in the first innings, followed by 84 in the second.
Despite setbacks in Adelaide and Brisbane, he has impressed in the Border-Gavaskar series so far, battling his way to a first-innings score of 161 in Perth.
However, India must win next week’s final Test in Sydney if they want to stop Australia from winning the series and claiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in almost nine years.
Australia, meanwhile, can seal its place in the World Test Championship final if it beats India at the SCG. Should they win, they will take on South Africa at Lord’s later this summer.