Twist in ‘cheating’ drama following hugely controversial Boxing Day Test moment: ‘These people are liars’

Former India wicketkeeper Surinder Khanna has reacted to one of the most controversial moments of the Boxing Day Test, accusing the touring side of being ‘liars’.

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.

On review, Snicko showed no spike as the ball passed his glove, but the third umpire ruled the ball had deflected.

Further assessments revealed that Jaiswal had significantly changed the direction in which the ball was traveling

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.

The decision was not well received by much of the Indian camp, but Khanna has a different opinion and has criticized the Indian team for not going through with it.

‘There’s no point in creating controversy, they showed from four angles that the ball hit the gloves and the pace also dropped before Alex Carey caught it behind the stumps. Akash Deep also complained about something similar when he was caught. “Juthe log hai yeh’ (These people are liars), you have to play fair first, only then you start winning,” Khanna told IANS.

“When you have the bat in your hand, how can you not know how to edge the ball? We played poorly and we lost. What kind of percussion are they doing? When the IPL comes, these players will make runs. Don’t play overly aggressive T20 cricket and play positive. Let’s hope the luck changes in the new year (for the Indian 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.

Ex-player Surinder Khanna took a brave stand and criticized the Indian team for not accepting the decision

Pat Cummins has come to the defense of the third referee since the incident

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.”

‘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.”

BBG Sports are the founders of snicko and the innovative ‘Hot Spot’ technology which was first used during the 2006 Ashes and which revolutionized the rating system in cricket.

Warren Brenner, who founded the company and is head of technology, revealed to The Sydney Morning Herald that snicko doesn’t always pick up light touches or ‘bolts of lightning’.

“On those can-like shots, there’s rarely any sound,” Brennan told the outlet. “Glance shots are not Snicko’s strength, while that is the case for HotSpot.”

Hot Spot works using infrared cameras that can measure heat signatures obtained from friction on a player’s bat, gloves or pad. In fact, the system is said to have adopted elements of the technology used in military aircraft and tanks as part of its design.

While the system, which was designed in 2007, could have helped provide more convincing evidence as to whether Jaiswal had touched the ball, the system is currently not being used for the 2024-2025 Border-Gavaskar series.

That’s because concerns have previously been raised about the accuracy of the system.

In 2013, Brennan claimed that bat coatings and tape could trick the technology and negate the thermal signature that the camera would normally pick up if a cricket ball hit the bat.

Hot Spot usage has subsequently declined and is now not widely used by international teams.