Australia captain Steve Smith was least pleased with Murali Vijay and appeared to call him a “f**king cheat” after the Indian opener claimed to have taken a catch that was later ruled grounded. (DAY 3 BLOG)
Vijay, fielding at gully, seemed to have caught Josh Hazlewood for the final wicket of Australia’s second innings after the No 11 edged Ravichandran Ashwin. (DAY 3 SCORECARD)
The on-field umpires considered it for a referral. However, the India opener, convinced he had claimed the catch cleanly, left the field to begin padding up for the Indian innings.
He was later called back as third umpire Chris Gaffaney ruled the ball had scraped the turf and declared it ‘not out’.
Smith, who was in the Australian dressing room, was visibly displeased with Vijay’s quick run into the pavilion and was caught by television cameras mouthing the words “f**king cheat” as he stomped his way back to his seat.
Murali Vijay claims a catch that was grounded. Steve Smith captured by TV cameras mouthing “f***ing cheat”
— Ben Horne (@BenHorne8) March 27, 2017
The video clip did not go unnoticed and social media, particularly micro-blogging site Twitter, was abuzz with Smith’s choice of words for Vijay.
In response to @BenHorne8 tweet. This is the video. pic.twitter.com/TiiClKS1BH
— Neroli Meadows (@Neroli_M_FOX) March 27, 2017
The fourth Test has been less tense than the other matches in the series thus far especially with India skipper Virat Kohli out of action.
If my eyes don’t deceive me, I reckon Steve Smith just mouthed “fucking cheat” #INDvAUS
— Andrew Wu (@wutube) March 27, 2017
The third day of the fourth Test saw Ravindra Jadeja get into a verbal scrap with Matthew Wade after the dismissal of Glenn Maxwell in the 33rd over.
After Jadeja was pulled away by a teammate, the fuming Wade confronted Vijay while at the crease. The umpires took charge of the situation by speaking to Jadeja in the presence of India’s stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Pot calling the kettle black
This isn’t the first time in the series that the word ‘cheat’ has been thrown around or alluded to.
During the second Test in Bangalore, Smith was seen attempting to consult his dressing room on whether he should review an LBW decision against him.
India captain Virat Kohli, understanding the situation, immediately brought it to the attention of the umpires.
Smith infamously claimed to have had a “brain fade” which brewed further bad blood between the teams.
Steve Smith and BrainFade are in a relationship. #IndvAus
— Jaanvi ? (@ThatCricketGurl) March 27, 2017
In his post-match press conference that day, Kohli stopped short of calling Smith a cheat but did express that he thought that his actions weren’t in the spirit of the game.
“There’s a line that you don’t cross on the cricket field, sledging and playing against the opponents is different. I don’t want to mention the word, but it falls into that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field,” Kohli had said after India had managed a 75-run victory in Bangalore.
Source: HindustanTimes