The fourth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played between India and Australia from 3 January 2019. The match will take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground. This match in Sydney will be special in many ways. If the Indian team wins here, then the series will remain in their name. Never before has India won a Test series in Australia. But here we will talk about the Sydney Test which had a lot of controversy and even the cancellation of the tour was over.
There was a lot of controversy in that Sydney Test match played in 2008, 10 years ago. This is the same match in which the 'Monkeygate' episode took place and the Australian team was also accused of dishonesty. Under the captaincy of Anil Kumble, the Indian team was trailing 1-0 in the series and the second Test match was to be played in Sydney from 2 January. The Indian team won the Test and came into the fray with the intention of matching the series.
Australian captain Ricky Potting won the toss and decided to bat. However, the team did not start well and fell 6 wickets till 135 runs. From here, umpires Steve Buckner and Mark Benson gave a number of decisions against the Indian team. Andrew Symonds was out 3 times in this match but was declared not out. For example, when Symonds came to the crease to bat, he was caught behind the wickets off Ishant Sharma but Steve Buckner called him not out. He was also stumped off Harbhajan Singh after this, but Steve Buckner still called him not out and did not seek help from the third umpire. Even when Stump out was appealed to Anil Kumble, third umpire Bruce Oxenford called him a no. While it was visible in the replay that his feet were in the air and the commentators were also saying that Symonds was out. Taking full advantage of such a decision, Symonds scored 162 runs to bring the Australian team to a score of 463 runs. Earlier, Ricky Potting off Sourav Ganguly was also called by the umpire.
The Indian team scored 532 runs in the first innings and took a lead of 69 runs. VVS Laxman scored 109 and Sachin Tendulkar scored 154 not out. After this, Australia declared their second innings by making 401 for 7 wickets. India got a target of 333 runs to win. While batting on the last day, there was dishonesty with the Indian team. Rahul Dravid, playing on 38, was called a catch out behind the wickets off Andrew Symonds. While his pad was ahead the bat was far from the ball but Adam Gilchrist appealed from behind the wickets and the umpire dismissed Dravid.
After this, the game Sourav Ganguly for 51 runs becomes the target of a similar umpiring. In Brett Lee's over, the ball goes to slip with the edge of Ganguly's bat and Michael Clarke present there claims to catch the catch. Even Australian captain Ricky Potting claims to hold a clean finger with a finger. It is clear in the replay that Clarke did not catch the catch properly and the ball was hit the ground but umpire Mark Benson calls Ganguly out.
Despite so many wrong decisions, the Indian team looked to be saving the match but Michael Clarke finally reversed the match with 3 wickets in an over and the Indian team suffered a loss by 122 runs. Apart from the bad umpiring on the field, there was another controversy which made considerable headlines. In that match, Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling Andrew Symonds a 'monkey', known as the 'Monkeygate' episode. For this, Harbhajan Singh was banned for 3 Test matches but the Indian team protested against this decision and threatened to cancel the tour midway. Protests started in India as well and questions were raised about bad umpiring. Finally Harbhajan Singh gets a clean chit.
Despite so many wrong decisions, the Indian team looked to be saving the match but Michael Clarke finally reversed the match with 3 wickets in an over and the Indian team suffered a loss by 122 runs. Apart from the bad umpiring on the field, there was another controversy which made considerable headlines. In that match, Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling Andrew Symonds a 'monkey', known as the 'Monkeygate' episode. For this, Harbhajan Singh was banned for 3 Test matches but the Indian team protested against this decision and threatened to cancel the tour midway. Protests started in India as well and questions were raised about bad umpiring. Finally Harbhajan Singh gets a clean chit.
Indian team captain Anil Kumble at the time said that in this match only one team played with sportsmanship. His gesture was clearly understandable. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh also said about the match that the match will probably be known for its wrong decisions. Former opener Virender Sehwag had said in an interview that if the Australian players had played honestly, we might have won the Sydney Test match. Sachin Tendulkar has written in his book 'Playing it my way' that despite all those controversies, we join hands and congratulate him on all the matches in Australia's victory.
Now once again India and Australia are face to face, in the same Sydney ground where all this dispute took place 10 years ago. This time the Indian team is ahead in the series and there is a lot of pressure on Australia.
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