IND vs AUS: Indian star pacer Mohammad Siraj has been in controversy since his send-off to Travis Head after he dismissed the batter, who was set, having scored a stunning 140 runs at Adelaide.
However, when Travis Head was asked about the heated conversation between the two, he clearly stated that after hitting Siraj for a six in the previous ball and then getting bowled by a toe-crushing yorker, he jokingly remarked, saying, “Well bowled.”.
However, in a conversation with Indian commentator and Star Sports associate Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Siraj claimed that Head was lying to have said he bowled well, and rather Travis Head abused him during the altercation.
Siraj claimed during the conversation with Harbhajan Singh, “It was a great battle going on (with Head), and he batted really well,” Siraj told Star Sports Hindi before the third day’s play.
“When you get hit for a six on a good ball, it fires you up differently. And when I got him bowled, I only celebrated, and he abused me, and you saw that on TV too. I only celebrated at the start; I didn’t say anything to him. What he said in the press conference wasn’t right; it’s a lie that he only said, ‘Well bowled,’ to me. It’s there for everyone to see that that’s not what he said to me.
“We respect everyone; it’s not like we disrespect other players. I respect everybody because cricket is a gentleman’s game, but what he did wasn’t right. I didn’t like it at all.”
Australia levelled off the series with a win in the pink-ball test at Adelaide
After Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne helped Australia seal it big in the first Australian inning at Adelaide, the Aussies dominated with a lead of 157 runs.
While the Indians came in to bat, they looked confident when Starc and Cummins seemed playable to them, only until the Aussie pacers bounced back with repetitive wickets.
After a struggling end to their Day 2 campaign, half of the Indian wickets were down, as Cummins, Boland, and Starc picked vital wickets, each sending off the likes of KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
After Starc removed Pant early on Day 3, it was all between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Pat Cummins. Reddy kept one end strong, though Cummins picked wickets at regular intervals with his most hostile pace bowling of acute pace and bounce.
Eventually dismissed for 175 runs, Australia was to chase only 19 runs in their final innings, which openers McSweeney and Khawaja chased with 10 wickets remaining.
