Good cricket plus bad blood made for fine series
As India celebrate the return of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from previous holders Australia, the overriding consensus is that the hosts maintained order between the sport’s top two test sides in a series that had everything.
Seldom has a tour been dragged deep into the gutter through tit-for-tat accusations of cheating and foul play only for it to rise magnificently in the wake of some quality cricket by the bitterest of antagonists.
“It was a magnificent series, one of the best I’ve been part of,” Australia captain Steve Smith said on Tuesday.
Given their history, it seemed inevitable that tempers would flare between sides that endorse an identical brand of aggressive cricket when they met in Pune for the opener, which passed without incident barring a surprise win for the visitors.
The veneer cracked in the second Test, however, when all hell broke loose after Smith gestured to his dressing room whether to review an lbw decision against him. The “brain fade” drew a predictable reaction from his feisty Indian counterpart Virat Kohli, who claimed it was but one of several similar breaches by the tourists, an allegation Australia summarily dismissed.
The incident snowballed into a major crisis with both boards springing to the defence of their respective captains. The game’s governing body moved quickly to douse the flames with a lenient view of the episode, which must have felt like deja vu for India coach Anil Kumble.
The draw in Ranchi stood out for Cheteshwar Pujara’s dogged resistance and Pat Cummins’ successful return to Tests but the bitterness returned when Glenn Maxwell mocked Kohli for an injury that would keep him out of the series decider.
India prevailed in Dharamsala after some fine individual performances but there was little let up in the acrimony.
Australia skipper Steve Smith apologised after the series for letting his emotions slip but Kohli, who a poor run, made no such conciliatory attempt, saying he was no longer friends with the Australian cricketers, many of whom he would be meeting in the IPL next month.