Within five balls of the third day at the Adelaide Oval, any interest in the game evaporated, and the crowd’s attention turned to the main event of the day: Mohammad Siraj vs Australia. Any hopes of a long run ended after Rishabh Pant edged Mitch Starc’s fifth delivery of the morning. In the end, India managed to avoid an innings defeat courtesy of Nitish Reddy. And Australia leveled the series with the required 19 runs in 3.2 overs. The third Test in Brisbane will begin on Saturday, December 14.
As soon as Pant fell for the sixth wicket, the wait for Siraj’s tailland tip began. Every Australia-India series has a hero and a villain, and this one seems to have found two faces of them, albeit the most unlikely. So much so that by the end of the game, Head had already given up, telling ABC radio that “I’m sweet, and I think he’s the same, and we’ll move on.” It will now likely be up to the Brisbane crowd to try and boo this “rivalry” forward, if the players themselves don’t work on it.
But for a while there was a commotion in the air. Siraj ran into the park to bat as No. 11 and stuck with Jasprit Bumrah. A drinks break was underway. The ground staff were busy dusting the bowler’s landing area, while the Australians stood behind the striker’s stumps drinking water. The crowd rioted. It was too early in the day for alcohol to course through their system like when the incident happened on Saturday night. They tried, though, to keep themselves entertained with booing.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc, left, celebrates dismissing India’s Rishabh Pant, right, during the third day of the second cricket Test match between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval in Australia, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo./James Elsby)
Almost immediately, two of the show’s main actors punctured the spicy balloon. Siraj had just taken a stab at the bouncer – not only had Pat Cummins reserved that treatment for him, but his modus operandi that morning was to bounce in the lower order to take wickets. The ball flew to the right of the diving wicketkeeper Alex Carey who knocked it away. At first slip, Steve Smith picks up the ball and heads it to short-leg. At the same time, Siraj, who did not see the throw, was walking in the same direction after the head took out his left hand and collected the throw. Both of them also had a conversation. Since then Siraj kept walking towards the head shaking.
The crowd was also slowly losing interest in booing, at least by the time the spectacle ended, at least not relentlessly. With a fun twist, though. Siraj miscues a slug and heads around to bag it. The crowd loved that stop – and cheered. Bumrah would add another touch to the proceedings, slapping Siraj on the back and helmet, asking him to walk off the park first.
That was the only entertainment of the day as the target of 19 was gone in no time. There was one final act left that could have brought more drama to the episode, but it didn’t happen at the two press conferences held by captain Rohit Sharma and Cummins.
Rohit came first, extinguishing all possible fires in the Siraj-Head incident. He praised Siraj for his bowling and head batting and said that such incidents happen in the current summer between ‘two competing teams’. And there is nothing special about it. “When India and Australia play, these things always happen. And these are just part of the game now…there’s a fine line between being aggressive and being too aggressive and crossing that line. Obviously, as a captain, it’s also my responsibility that we don’t cross the line. But yes, a word or two here and there, I don’t think makes a big difference. Rohit said.
Cummins played a similar tune. It could have been more interesting if the captains had not interacted with the media. maybe Asked if he would advise his players on how to handle the media and what to say to the world after such “hot” events, Cummins took it as a question directed at Head, who will hold a press conference on Saturday. Travis is the vice-captain. He’s a big boy, he can speak for himself.
When another questioner stuck to the Siraj-head angle, Cummins leaned forward, smiled slightly and said, “Enough said about that.” So, time to move on for both teams at the Gabba with the series level.
Even as Cummins addressed the media, some Indian batsmen came to the nets to strike. Rohit spoke about the group’s eagerness to work out their own plans to face the previous ball. “The team is very keen to make a difference and whatever challenges there are and the conditions are tough, we want to fight it out there, stay out there and grind it out. That was Jaiswal and KL doing to make that 200-run partnership (in Perth). It’s about swinging the bat. Not just an effort. KL took around 200 balls to make his 70 and Jaiswal, knowing his aggressive nature, batted 300 balls to complete those 150 runs.
“We were in a place where it was challenging, we got out but we put it behind us. That’s what we did when we left the first innings stuff in Perth.”
India will want to revisit Perth’s second innings effort, and forget about Adelaide. Australia will want to forget Perth and revisit Adelaide’s bid for the third Test. Some days to remember, some days to forget.