Australia triumphed in an all-time great Test match but the actions of a select few from the Indian camp undermined what should be celebrated as a milestone for Test cricket.
Whilst the scorecard headlines Australia won the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 184 runs the biggest stories to come out of the game was external to the match itself.
Right from Boxing Day itself, Virat Kohli, a former captain of his side put himself into a collision with debutant and 19-year-old Sam Konstas. The ensuing contact was enough to spark words before the umpires and fellow Australian opener Usman Khawaja attempted to cool the tension.
Konstas has shown a knack for winding up the crowd and attempting to rile up the Indian side but a well-respected veteran should be setting an example for his side. The ICC handing out a fine of 20 per cent of his match fee was far from apt. I’m not speculating that a suspension was necessary however a steeper punishment needs to ensure no contact is made on the field of play.
Mohammed Siraj talking back to Konstas and attempting to intimidate the youngster was also a poor look for someone already loathed by the Australian crowd. Flipping the bails again in the 43rd over of the game shows arrogance from the Indian paceman which again adds on from his earlier altercation with Travis Head in the series.
These two instances from experienced players show either a lack of respect or immaturity from such a talented squad.
Another aspect I want to touch on is the blame culture of the Indian side. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal in the fourth innings was contentious due to the clear deflection on the ball as it travelled to Alex Carey not appearing on Snicko.
The failure of the technology sent BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla nuclear as he said, “Yashaswi Jaiswal was clearly not out. Third umpire should have taken note of what technology was suggesting. While overruling field umpire third umpire should have solid reasons.”
Indian captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged that Jaiswal hit the ball but still saw the batsman as hard done by.
“In all fairness, he did touch the ball but again it’s about the technology which we all know is not 100 per cent,” Sharma explained.
“Like I said, we don’t want to really look too much into that. More often than not, we are the ones falling on the wrong side of it. I feel we’ve been a little unfortunate.”
The focus on the DRS system and technology fails to admit India’s own mistakes during that Test match from Rishabh Pant’s impatient dismissal or the fact that his side collapsed in such spectacular fashion (7/34).
India still has the ability to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney. But their mindset and failure to acknowledge their mistakes or poor actions across what should be such a celebrated Test match and series for that matter shows a weakness in the side.
India must win to have a chance however slim of making the World Test Championship final. The talent exists in this list but they first be in the right mental mindset to be able to properly challenge and that includes both on and off-field matters.
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