Top 5 hyped controversies during India Australia series in the past

The much awaited India Australia series is here! Every time these two teams clash on the cricket field, it is a delight for the cricket fans to watch. We expect you might also be familiar with the ferocious rivalry between these two teams.

Today, we bring you the top 5 hyped controversies during India Australia series that took place in the past:

#1 Sydney Test 2008

Remember India’s controversial tour of Australia in 2008. Well, how can that be not on our list? The second test match of famous Border-Gavaskar Series at Sydney cricket ground became an infamous affair because of umpire Steve Bucknor’s poor umpiring.

hat test match saw some terrible umpiring decision taken by the on-field umpire Steve Bucknor, Mark Benson and the third umpire Bruce Oxenford in the favor of the Australian cricket team.

It was a moment of utter disgrace for the Aussies but the thing is, they felt none. Things got even worse, when umpire Mark Bensen asked Australian captain Ricky Ponting whether the fielder carried the ball neatly or not and working on Ponting’s direction, the umpire sent off Indian batsman Sourav Ganguly. At the end of the day, Bensen, Bucknor, and Oxenford had collectively taken 9 wrong decisions, all in favour of the Aussies.

#2 Virat Kohli – Johnson clash

The Indian skipper Virat Kohli who never seems shy to express his emotions was called in a verbal battle by the Aussies during India's tour Down Under in 2014-15.

The Indian batsman accused the hosts of calling him a spoilt brat that apparently didn't go down well with the Delhi lad. Returning the favour, Virat targeted Australia's bowling spearhead, Mitchell Johnson.

The tension boiled in the Melbourne Test when Kohli was struck by Johnson's throw after the Indian batsman had pushed it back towards the Australian bowler. That throw sparked a rivalry which stayed in the mind of fans till date.

It continued with Kohli and Johnson’s heated arguments during the match and as the Indian captain says “The Bat speaks”, he brought shame to Johnson’s nasty sledging with scoring 169 runs in that innings.

Johnson, on the other hand, conceived a total of 135 runs against India.

#3 The Monkeygate Scandal

Biased umpiring wasn’t the only highlight of the Sydney Test. The second Test match of Border Gavaskar series was filled with controversies.

The Monkeygate scandal is still fresh in the minds of a cricket fan. It all began with Australian batsman Andrew Symonds’ claim over Harbhajan Singh for allegedly calling him 'monkey'.

Apparently Harbhajan Singh had said Teri Maa Ki, to Andrew Symonds, however, the Aussie mistook it as the 'big monkey' and that's what led to the Monkeygate scandal.

The matter reached a Sydney court and a disciplinary panel was set up to investigate the charges. Harbhajan was banned for three Tests, which was later revoked.

#4 The Gambhir – Watson sledging

During the 2008 home series, a tense moment cropped up on the opening day of the 3rd Test match between India Australia at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. Indian opener Gautam Gambhir and Australia all-rounder Shane Watson were involved in an on-field contest. Gambhir, who appeared to have been provoked by Watson while he was taking his first run. The Aussie nudged the bowler when he crossed him while completing the second run.

After which the brawl began and comments started flowing back and forth. The arguments got intense with many of Aussie bowlers joining Watson in oppressing the Indian batsman. At many moments during the match, it seemed like a fight is about to happen but the umpire intervened.

#5 The Breach of the ICC Code of Conduct

Australia reached a new low during the Bangalore Test in 2017. The second session of the Bangalore test saw Virat Kohli, the Indian captain, suggesting that Australia had systematically tried to bend the rules with regard to the Decision Review System (DRS) by seeking advice from their dressing room.

The flashpoint came with Australia 74 for 3, in pursuit of 188 for victory. Umesh Yadav struck Steven Smith, the Australian captain, on the pad just inches above the ground. The umpire’s finger was up right away!

Seeing only one review remaining with the Aussies, Smith went towards Peter Handscomb, the non-striker, to ask his opinion. Who then suggested him to ask from the dressing room.

At that point, umpire Nigel Llong asked him to walk off, while also leading furious Kohli away from the batsmen.

Later, ICC announced that they had taken note of the goings-on in the Bangalore Test, which ended in controversial circumstances, but was not going to punish either Steven Smith or Virat Kohli under the ICC Code of Conduct.

So these were our top 5 rivalry incidents between India and Australia. Tell us if we have missed any in the comment box below.