3 most heated arguments in Border-Gavaskar trophy Tests
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is all set to start on February 9 and cricket fans all over the globe are excited and looking forward to the dual between the two best Test teams in the world.
India, led by Rohit Sharma, will start the series as favorites but the Australian team under Pat Cummins has been on a roll in the longest format of the game of late. The visitors have an experienced team this time around and will hope to put up a good performance in the series.
Any game between India and Australia is never short of tension and hostility, and more so in test cricket. Over the last few years, there have been many arguments and controversies in matches between the two powerhouses of the game.
Here, we take a look at three instances when things got pretty tense and hostile between the two nations in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
#1 Brainfade Incident, 2017
In the second Test of the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Steve Smith was adjudged lbw when he was batting on 28. In what he described as a brain fade moment, the former Australian skipper looked to the dressing room for a signal as to whether he should review the dismissal or not.
This caught the eye of then-Indian captain Virat Kohli, who was left fuming and immediately reported it to the umpires. Nigel Llong was quick to tell Smith to head back to the dressing room and also warned him with regard to the same.
Post the match, Kohli stopped just short of referring to the Aussies as cheats and went on to say that he had seen the visitors consult the dressing room for DRS calls multiple times.
#2 Monkeygate Scandal
The infamous Monkeygate scandal plagued the Sydney Test during the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India's Harbhajan Singh and Australia's Andrew Symonds were involved in a heated exchange during the game, which escalated after the latter accused the Indian tweaker of calling him a monkey.
Harbhajan was subsequently banned for three games but the ban was lifted following an appeal by the BCCI.
Matters became so bad that the Indian team wanted to pull out of the series. Later, Sachin Tendulkar testified in favor of his fellow teammate Harbhajan. The game was totally marred by controversy as several wrong decisions were also made by the umpires.
#3 Virat Kohli vs Mitchell Johnson, 2014-15
The 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy was one of the most heated encounters between the two sides in recent times, with many notable figures condemning the spirit in which the games were contested.
Virat Kohli was having a brilliant series with the bat and the Aussies started sledging him throughout the series, calling him a spoilt brat.
However, things went overboard in the third Test, which was held at the picturesque Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Mitchell Johnson hit Kohli with the ball on his follow-through while aiming for the stumps. The Aussie quick immediately apologized to Kohli but the latter was not amused at all.
Kohli had a great outing with the bat though, making a hundred in the first innings and a fifty in the second.