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SYDNEY - The fractured relationship between the Australian and Indian cricket teams reached a new low last night, after Australia staged an amazing comeback to win the second test by 122 runs.
Australia's victory, which equalled their own world record of 16 successive wins, was overshadowed by India spinner Harbhajan Singh's three-test ban for racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the match and a bitter outburst from the tourists who accused their opponents of unsportsmanlike behaviour.
"Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game," Indian captain Kumble said, borrowing a similar line to Bill Woodfull's immortal comment during the 1932-33 Bodyline series.
The Indian team manager Chetan Chauhan said the tourists were so upset at the performances of the two on-field umpires, West Indian Steve Bucknor and England's Mark Benson, that they planned to lodge an official protest at their handling of the match.
"I have been informed by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) that they are lodging a strong protest with the ICC (International Cricket Council), so that some of the incompetent umpires do not umpire in the rest of the series," Chauhan said.
India also plan to appeal the ban on Harbhajan, who denies racially abusing all-rounder Symonds.
The tourists had been faced with the daunting challenge of batting through 72 overs to salvage a draw on a turning Sydney Cricket Ground pitch to keep the series alive but came up agonisingly short.
They made no attempt at chasing down the 333 they had been set to win but held out realistic hopes of hanging on for a draw when they started the second last over with three wickets in hand.
But part-time spinner Michael Clarke, who had managed just one run with the bat in the match, manufactured an astonishing over to seal Australia's win by dismissing Harbhajan, RP Singh and Ishant Sharma in five balls.
Ponting said Australia's win, which ensured the team retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was among the best he had ever been involved in during his long career.
"My overall emotion and feeling at the end of the game was as good a feeling as I've ever had on a cricket field," he said.
"To win a test like that, coming down to the last eight or 10 minutes on the fifth day is very special."
Australia were not even entertaining thoughts of winning when they trailed by 69 on the first innings but gave themselves a chance of victory when they piled on the runs in the second dig.
Mike Hussey made an unbeaten 145 and man of the match Symonds (61), allowing Ponting to declare before lunch on the last day and give his bowlers just over two sessions to manufacture a result.
India's hopes of saving the match suffered an early setback when they lost out-of-form opener Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar and Vangipurappu Laxman but Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly consolidated the innings.
Dravid was the victim of another umpiring blunder after tea but the tourists still looked to have done enough to avoid defeat when Ponting tossed the ball to Clarke in desperation and the match took one last twist.
"The last 30 or 40 minutes of the day's play was about gambling, about rolling the dice," Ponting said.
- REUTERS
