Caught on camera: Smith calls Murali Vijay a ‘f**king cheat’
MUMBAI: Australia captain Steve Smith was least pleased with Murali Vijay and appeared to call him a “f**king cheat” after the Indian opener claimed to have taken a catch that was later ruled grounded.
Vijay, fielding at gully, seemed to have caught Josh Hazlewood for the final wicket of Australia’s second innings after the No 11 edged Ravichandran Ashwin.
The on-field umpires considered it for a referral. However, the India opener, convinced he had claimed the catch cleanly, left the field to begin padding up for the Indian innings. He was later called back as third umpire Chris Gaffaney ruled the ball had scraped the turf and declared it ‘not out’.
Smith, who was in the Australian dressing room, was visibly displeased with Vijay’s quick run into the pavilion and was caught by television cameras mouthing the words “f**king cheat” as he stomped his way back to his seat. The video clip did not go unnoticed and social media, particularly micro-blogging site Twitter, was abuzz with Smith’s choice of words for Vijay.
The fourth Test has been less tense than the other matches in the series thus far especially with India skipper Virat Kohli out of action.
The third day of the fourth Test saw Ravindra Jadeja get into a verbal scrap with Matthew Wade after the dismissal of Glenn Maxwell in the 33rd over. After Jadeja was pulled away by a teammate, the fuming Wade confronted Vijay while at the crease. The umpires took charge of the situation by speaking to Jadeja in the presence of India’s stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.
This isn’t the first time in the series that the word ‘cheat’ has been thrown around or alluded to. Remember Smith’s ‘brain fade’ in the second Test in Bangalore?