India-Aussie Cricket: Where Reviewgate Could Have Become Monkeygate

As expected the ongoing India-Australia Test series has seen some high class cricket as befitting a contest involving the two top rated teams.in the ICC rankings. And also quite predictably there has been a lot of tension generated by the unacceptable behavior of players of both sides.

It is just as well that there has been a gap of more than a week between the second and third Tests for things were really beginning to get out of hand.even by the standards of India – Australian Tests which have traditionally been marked by innumerable cases of unsavoury incidents.

Under the circumstances one must praise the efforts of the two Boards and more specifically the two chiefs Rahul Johri and James Sutherland who decided to bury the hatchet and defuse the crisis arising out of ''Reviewgate’’ as it has come to be called.

Yes, there have been those who have been keen on some kind of punishment for Steve Smith for his role in doing something that certainly went against the spirit of the game on the last day of the second Test in Bangalore. But had that happened the issue would have just dragged on almost along the lines of the ''Monkeygate’’ controversy ''Down Under’’ during the 2007-08 series.

Ultimately nothing would have come out from it and more ill feeling would have been the result. .What we saw during ''Monkeygate’’ was brinkmanship and posturing of the worst kind. It was all about egos and power games. Had ''Reviewgate’’ been allowed to run a similar course the events would have overshadowed the cricket on the field.

Here is the chance to start afresh. The week long break, the burying of the hatchet by Johri and Sutherland and the fact that the ICC also said it would not press charges in the incident have all contributed to a phase where cricket fans are now again talking about the chances of the two teams in the remaining Tests rather than dwell on something unpleasant.

It is hoped that Richie Richardson who is taking over from Chris Broad as match referee for the remaining games at Ranchi and Dharamsala would meet up with Smith and his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli before the third Test commences and convey to them the importance of concentrating on the contest between bat and ball and to ensure that things don’t get out of control as far as the behavior is concerned.

A lot has been made of Smith’s ''brain fade’’ comment and the role played by Peter Handscomb in trying to get a signal from the dressing room as to whether the Australian captain should go in for a review after he was given out. They were certainly wrong in what they did and in fact the Australian coaching staff has admitted that they were horrified when they saw Smith looking to the dressing room for advice on the review.

That said it must be added that the Indians too did not cover themselves with glory as far as their antics on the field and utterances off the field were concerned. To cite just one example Ishant Sharma making faces at Smith was in extremely bad taste. And Kohli who of late has been a picture of poise, calm and control compared to his tantrums in the past for once was again seen in his former avatar during the Bangalore Test. He must remember that he is now the captain besides being a role model and must make a serious and determined effort to keep himself in control both in word and deed.

Kohli has been eminently successful in his stewardship and one would like to think that this is at least partly because he has kept his emotions in check. So often it has been seen that when a player loses control of his behavior and indulges in abuse and worse his game suffers. The sooner a player realizes this the better it will be for him and for his team for he can contribute that much more.

If we ignore all these seamy aspects it will be seen that the series is tantalizingly poised. An Aussie victory by 333 runs in three days followed by an Indian victory by 75 runs in four daysmakes it difficult for even the so called experts to predict the result of the next two Tests.

Cricket fans whether they be Indian or Australian or neutral will fervently hope that the games at Ranchi and Dharamsala will be keen contests between bat and ball but without the unsavoury and disreputable behavior seen at Bangalore. There are several top notch players in both sides who at their aesthetic or attacking best can be a sight for the gods.

Whichever side wins at Ranchi and Dharamsala the cricketers should ensure that the game is the winner.