By IANS,
Bangalore : The shadows of acrimonious series between India and Australia lurched on the eve of the first Test here with Ricky Ponting feeling “insulted” over Indian opener Virender Sehwag’s claims that Australians cheated to win the controversial Sydney Test.
Sehwag said the Aussies took advantage of the catching pact, the bone of contention between the two sides, to win Sydney Test early this year.
“We suffered the most in the catches pact during the last series,” Sehwag told ESPN-STAR.
“There is no point in having such an arrangement when the Australians are claiming one-bounce catches. We’d have won the Sydney Test if they hadn’t claimed catches off half-volleys in that game.”
Australian skipper Ponting, who was open to work on the agreement in this series as well, was quick to retaliate, referring Sehwag’s comments insulting and reflective of a negative mindset.
“That’s fairly insulting. In the first innings at the SCG I did not claim a catch because I wasn’t 100 per cent sure,” he said.
“It is amazing how they have picked out a lot of negatives from that game and don’t seem to be speaking about the Perth Test where we probably had the same things happen to us. Not one member of the Australian team has spoken about it. We go about our cricket in different ways.”
India lost by 122 runs in Sydney Test which became infamous for faulty umpiring and the race row between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds.
“I am not sure what they are trying to achieve. It was a Test we won, a crucial Test for the overall series. As I said at the time, it was one of the best moments I’ve had on a cricket field. To win the way we did was an outstanding effort by the team.”
Kumble, however, Wednesday said the Sydney affair would not have any effect on the series.
“Let’s not sit and dwell on what has happened in the past. I’m sure this series will be played in the right way.”