'Have umpires gone blind?': Australia accused of ball-tampering on Virat Kohli's wicket

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has accused the Australian team of tampering with the ball to dismiss Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in the ongoing World Test Championship final. The 52-year-old on Thursday claimed the Australian bowlers illegally tinkered with the condition of the ball during the Indian innings. Furthermore, he slammed match officials and commentators for not noticing Australia's tactics on the field. 

Cheteshwar Pujara failed to judge the correct line of the ball and left it. However, the outside-off delivery seamed back in and removed the top of the off stump, dismissing him for 14 off 25 balls. Earlier, Scott Boland took the wicket of Shubman Gill in an identical manner. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, was deceived by the extra bounce from Mitchell Starc. Several experts including the likes of Sanjay Manjrekar have said the delivery was unplayable. 

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Meanwhile, the former Pakistan cricketer turned coach, who has played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for his country, believes the Australians tampered with the ball to get the wickets of Gill, Kohli, and Pujara. Basit also alleged the Australians tampered with the ball when Ravindra Jadeja was batting in the middle. Jadeja was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 48 off 51 balls. Lyon bowled a beautiful outside-off spinning delivery to Jadeja, luring him to play. But Jadeja playing on the front foot edged the ball at Steve Smith, who was standing at slip. A video supporting Basit Ali's claim is also going viral on social media. 

"Firstly, I would clap for those watching the match from commentary box, and the umpires? Australia clearly played with the ball and no one is talking about it. No batter is wondering 'What is happening?' The biggest example is batters getting bowled while leaving the ball. Let me give you the evidence too. Until the 54th over when Shami was bowling, the shine was on the outside and the ball moved back into Steve Smith. This is not called reverse-swing. Reverse swing is when the shine is on the inside and the ball comes back in," Ali said on his YouTube channel.

"Look at the 16th, 17th and 18th over, the ball on which Virat Kohli got out... look at the shine. Mitchell Starc had the ball in his hand with the shiny end pointing outside but the ball was moving the other way. Jadeja was hitting the ball on the on-side and the ball was flying over point. Have the umpires gone blind? God knows who all are sitting there who can't see such a simple thing," Ali pointed out.

It is important to note that the Australian cricket team has a long history of cheating in the game. Most recently, David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft were found guilty of tampering with the ball during a Test series against South Africa. The incident, also known as the 'Sandpaper Gate,' took place in March 2018 following which all three players received a year-long suspension from their board. However, no such incident took place after the 2018 scandal and the Australians have apparently been clean ever since. 

Also Read: 'Sorry I Am Reminding You': Sunil Gavaskar Reveals How India Can Still Win WTC Final

WTC Final: IND vs AUS Day 2

As far as the match is concerned, the Australians are currently at the top as India trail by more than 300 runs with just four wickets in hand. Australia amassed a massive total of 469 runs in the first innings thanks to centuries from Steve Smith and Travis Head. India, on the other hand, registered a poor start as their top order witnessed yet another collapse. Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja forged a crucial partnership but only to be broken by Lyon before the end of play on Day 2. 

Image: AP/Hotstar