Emotions spill over after Australia win

Emotions spill over after Australia win



SYDNEY (Reuters) - The fractured relationship between the
Australian and Indian cricket teams reached a new low on
Sunday after Australia staged an amazing comeback to win
the second test by 122 runs.
Part-time spinner Michael Clarke captured three wickets in the
penultimate over to deny India a draw and ensure Australia retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and equalled their own world record of 16 successive victories.
But their incredible victory was overshadowed by a bitter outburst from the Indians, who accused the Australians of unsportsmanlike behaviour and called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to sack the two umpires that handled the match.
"Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game," Indian captain Kumble said, borrowing a similar line to Bill Woodfull's immortal comment during the 1932-33 Bodyline series.
The Indian team manager Chetan Chauhan said the tourists were so upset at the performances of the two on-field umpires, West Indian Steve Bucknor and England's Mark Benson, that they planned to lodge an official protest at their handling of the match.
"I have been informed by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) that they are lodging a strong protest with the ICC, so that some of the incompetent umpires do not umpire in the rest of the series," Chauhan said.
DAUNTING CHALLENGE
The tourists had been faced with the daunting challenge of batting through 72 overs to salvage a draw on a turning Sydney Cricket Ground pitch to keep the series alive but came up agonisingly short.
They made no attempt at chasing down the 333 they had been set to win but held out realistic hopes of hanging on for a draw when they started the second last over with three wickets in hand.
But Clarke, who had managed just one run with the bat in the match, manufactured an astonishing over to seal Australia's win by dismissing Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh and Irfan Pathan in five balls.
Ponting, who lodged a complaint about Harbhajan during the match for allegedly racially abusing Andrew Symonds, said Australia's win was among the best he had ever been involved in during his long career.
"My overall emotion and feeling at the end of the game was as good a feeling as I've ever had on a cricket field," he said.
"To win a test like that, coming down to the last eight or 10 minutes on the fifth day is very special."
Australia were not even entertaining thoughts of winning when they trailed by 69 runs on the first innings but gave themselves a chance of victory when they piled on the runs in the second dig.
Mike Hussey made an unbeaten 145 and man of the match Symonds (61), allowing Ponting to declare before lunch on the last day and give his bowlers just over two sessions to manufacture a result.
India's hopes of saving the match suffered an early setback when they lost out-of-form opener Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar and Vangipurappu Laxman but Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly consolidated the innings.
Dravid was the victim of another umpiring blunder after tea but the tourists still looked to have done enough to avoid defeat when Ponting tossed the ball to Clarke in desperation and the match took one last twist.
"The last 30 or 40 minutes of the day's play was about gambling, about rolling the dice," Ponting said.

India officials call on ICC to take action on umpiring


SYDNEY (Reuters) - Indian cricket officials have called on the sport's world governing body to ban umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson from officiating in the rest of the series for their handling of the second test against Australia.
India lost the match by 122 runs after their celebrated batting lineup collapsed on the last day at the Sydney Cricket Ground but the tourists said the umpires were to blame for the result.
The Indian team manager Chetan Chauhan told a news conference that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) planned to lodge a formal protest with the International Cricket Council about the performances of both officials.
"I have been informed by the BCCI that they are lodging a strong protest with the ICC, so that some of the incompetent umpires do not umpire in the rest of the series," Chauhan said.
The five-day match was dogged by a series of umpiring blunders that reignited the debate about whether the match officials should be allowed to make greater use of technology to ensure they make the right decisions.
Both teams were adversely affected by wrong calls but the most significant occurred on the first day when Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was given not out by West Indian umpire Bucknor when the player edged a catch behind.
Symonds, who later admitted he had nicked the ball, was on 30 at the time but went on to make another 132 runs to finish unbeaten on 162.
The Indian players would not comment on the umpire's decisions for fear of breaching the sport's code of conduct but Chauhan said the team felt robbed.
"I would like to express the sentiment of the team. The way the umpiring was, the team is agitated and upset," he said.
"A lot of decisions have gone against us, of course a few went against the Australians also but it really affected us.
"Had some of the decisions, I would say 50 per cent of the decisions, (been) received in our favour, the result would have been different.
"We're not saying this because we have lost the game. It was for everybody to see."
The Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was also the victim of an umpiring error when he was wrongly given out lbw in the first innings, said it was unfair to criticise the officials.
"I'm not going to sit here and talk about umpiring decisions because if I do I'll find myself in hot water," he told a news conference.
"All I'll say about the umpires is that they're out there like me trying to do the best job that they can.
"I didn't get too many runs in this game, I made a few mistakes. Sure, they made a few mistakes, but that's the game of cricket."

Kumble accuses Aussies of bad sportsmanship

Kumble accuses Aussies of bad sportsmanship

SYDNEY (Reuters) - India captain Anil Kumble launched an astonishing attack on Australia's cricketers after his team were beaten in the second test on Sunday, accusing them of breaching the spirit of the game.
Kumble was unable to contain his fury after his team were beaten by 122 runs in a thrilling and controversial end to one of the most absorbing matches ever seen at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Asked by Indian journalists about Australia's tactics, Kumble echoed something similar to the immortal line used by the Australian captain Bill Woodfull during the 1932-33 Bodyline series against England.
"Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game," Kumble said.
He also said he was prevented from elaborating on his specific complaints about the Australian players but indicated he was upset at the refusal of their batsmen to walk when they were clearly out.
The Indians were on the wrong end of a number of bad umpiring decisions throughout the course of the match but the most crucial occurred on the first day when Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was given not out by West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor.
Symonds, who later admitted he had nicked the ball and should have been sent packing, was on 30 at the time but went on to make 162 not out and help Australia recover from a batting slump to make 463.
"We like to play hard on the field and we expect that from Australia as well," Kumble said.
"I've played my cricket very sincerely and very honestly and that's the approach my team takes on the field and I expect that from the Australians as well."
Kumble also bristled when asked about some of Australia's appeals after Rahul Dravid was controversially given out, caught behind on the last day when he had failed to make contact with the ball.
"We had decided that we will be honest and when a catch is taken the player says he's taken it, the captain nods his head and the umpire gives him out," Kumble said.
STRAINED RELATIONS
Relations between the teams were already strained after
Ponting lodged a complaint about Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh for allegedly making a racist comment to Symonds, but the Australian skipper denied there was any lingering bad blood between the sides.
"(I have) Absolutely no doubt about this match being played in the right spirit," Ponting said.
Kumble did admit his team had batted poorly on the last day, collapsing to be all out for 210 when they needed to bat through the day to salvage a draw.
However, he insisted his team still did not deserve to lose.
"The fair result would have been a draw," he said.
"It's tough when you've played all forms of cricket over the last 25 years and end up on the losing side like this."
He added: "We could have probably showed a bit more fight and we could have saved the game."

Australia v India second test scoreboard

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Scoreboard at the end of the second test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Australia first innings 463 (A.Symonds 162 not out)
India first innings 532 (S.Tendulkar 154 not out, V.Laxman 109)
Australia second innings (overnight 282-4)
P.Jaques c Yuvraj b Kumble 42
M.Hayden c Jaffer b Kumble 123
R.Ponting c Laxman b Harbhajan 1
M.Hussey not out 145
M.Clarke c Dravid b Kumble 0
A.Symonds c Dhoni b RP Singh 61
A.Gilchrist c Yuvraj b Kumble 1
B.Hogg c Dravid b Harbhajan 1
B.Lee not out 4
Extras (b-3 lb-8 w-3 nb-9) 23
Total (for seven wickets declared, 107 overs) 401
Did not bat: M.Johnson, S.Clark
Fall of wickets: 1-85 2-90 3-250 4-250 5-378 6-393 7-395
Bowling: RP Singh 16-2-74-1 (w-2), Sharma 14-2-59-0
(nb-2 w-1), Harbhajan 33-6-92-2, Kumble 40-3-148-4 (nb-7), Tendulkar 2-0-6-0, Yuvraj 2-0-11-0
India second innings
R.Dravid c Gilchrist b Symonds 38
W.Jaffer c Clarke b Lee 0
V.Laxman lbw b Clark 20
S.Tendulkar b Clark 12
S.Ganguly c Clarke b Lee 51
Y.Singh c Gilchrist b Symonds 0
M.Dhoni lbw b Symonds 35
A.Kumble not out 45
H.Singh c Hussey b Clarke 7
R.Singh lbw b Clarke 0
I.Sharma c Hussey b Clarke 0
Extras (nb-2) 2
Total (all out, 70.5 overs) 210
Fall of wickets: 1-3 2-34 3-54 4-115 5-115 6-137 7-185 8-210 9-210 10-210
Bowling: Lee 13-3-34-2 (nb-1), Johnson 11-4-33-0 (nb-1), Clark 12-4-32-2, Hogg 14-2-55-0, Symonds 14-2-55-0, Clarke 1.5-0-5-3
Result: Australia won by 122 runs
Man of the match: Andrew Symonds (Australia)

Australia beat India in thriller to equal world record

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia beat India by 122 runs in an amazing finish to the second test on Sunday to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and equal their own world record of 16 successive victories.
Ricky Ponting's side sealed the win with just seven balls left in the match when India collapsed to be all out for 210 on a turning Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.
The tourists looked to have salvaged a draw when they were seven wickets down with just two overs to go but part-time spinner Michael Clarke dismissed the last three batsmen in just five balls