1) Michael Clark stands after edging one to the first slip (second innings).
2) Ponting impersonates fifth umpire and raises the finger for Ganguly and spine-less Benson does not even look at Bucknor or the radio.
3) Ponting appeals for a catch that has been grassed during the dive. If he believes that he had taken that one neatly, he should appeal to Cricket Australia and ICC to count one WC lesser in Australia's bag, as they would never have won the 1999 version, if Gibbs or Hansie Cronje (yeah fixers) had adopted the same attitude.
This match eroded a bit of the large amount of respect that I had for this champion side. 16 wins on the trot is a great feat, but I hope this one was an exception in terms of attitude, because this one reeked of the same foul scent that lesser teams like Pakistan did when they played in Sharjah.
Coming to the real villians of the match - the three umpires. It's time VRS be introduced by ICC, and a large amount be paid to Steve Bucknor, so that he does not screw up any more interesting cricket battles. Mark Benson would do well to enroll in some courses in basic umpiring, because the manner in which he umpired could not have inspired confidence in either of 13 players on the field and nine off it. It sure did add to age-related deficiencies of Mr. Bucknor. The third umpire on the other hand needs to be taken to the optometrist. I am sure he needs spectacles as badly as anyone on this planet. There was clear daylight between Symonds' foot and the ground.
Now since the article that I referred to in the beginning of this blog, talks about so many "would-have-beens", I tried to see, what could it have been:
Let me just forgive the wrong "out" decisions given by the umpires over the last five days. Consider the wrong "not-outs" only (wrong according to me):
- Ponting given out on 30 when he nicked a flick into Dhoni's gloves, subtract 25 runs from Australian total - 448.
- Symonds given out when on 31, subtract 131 from Australian total - 317, and a first overseas test wicket for a 19 year old hones trier.
- Tendulkar (I know people are going to boo me for this), I believe, survived a very close LBW shout around 50, and going by TV replays, he could and should have been adjudged OUT. Subtract 104. Indian total - 428. lead of 111 and not 69.
- On Day 4, Mike Hussey edged one to Dhoni when on 48. Subtract 97 from Australian total - 304. Lead -193 and not 332.
Here I have assumed that rest of the wickets would have panned out as they did in reality. That might not be the case and Aussies could have been bundled out by 250, India by 350 and Aussies again by 250, because three of the four instances I have considered resulted in long partnerships after the dubious decision. But since there is no way of guessing the partnerships that followed, had these dubious ones been given properly, I stick to my reasoning above.
I am definitely disappointed that India lost today. But had the grit of Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid and majesty of Tendulkar, Laxman, and Ganguly been beaten by the cunning bowling of Brett Lee (he's my new fast bowling hero btw), or by imperious stroke making of Ponting and party, it would have left me anticipating WACA on 16th.
Instead, now, I feel stupid that I got up at 4:45 am sharp every day, just to see how low could ICC's elite panel of umpires stoop. Everyday there was some performance that made my day, though:
- RP Singh's bowling on the first day was a joy to watch.
- LAXMAN - written on the whole day.
- Ganguly, Tendulkar, Bhajji, and Ishant Sharma - amazing batting display.
- Hayden's stroke making was too imperious to miss.
- The expression on Kumble's face throughout the 103 balls he faced. A friend messaged me that she loves him. For that expression, the whole nation loves Jumbo.
Just hoping to see better umpiring standards in Perth, because Durban, Kingston, and Trent Bridge over the last few series, all point to a better-than-expected Indian performance there.
Cheers
