SCG racism row: What happened with Siraj, Bumrah not acceptable, says Rahane
Jan 11, 2021
Sydney [Australia], January 11 : India's stand-in Test skipper Ajinkya Rahane on Monday said that whatever happened with Mohammad Siraj on day three and four of the Pink Test against Australia is not at all acceptable and it should not happen anywhere in the world.
The Indian team on Saturday lodged an official complaint after the crowd at the SCG racially abused pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj over the second and third day of the Sydney Test. Rahane said the team is upset with the crowd behaviour.
"See, we have lodged a complaint, officials are looking into the matter now. I spoke to match referee and umpires about what had happened, whatever happened on the field was not acceptable at all, it should not happen anywhere in the world, we were really upset about it," said Rahane during a virtual press conference on Monday.
The crowd did not stop on day four of the ongoing Pink Test as Siraj along with Rahane had a word with umpire Paul Reiffel regarding the unruly behaviour of the crowd. Visuals on television indicated that there were some words spoken for Siraj who was fielding near the boundary rope. Both the umpires then had a word with each other and the police then asked a group of men to leave the stand.
The third Test of the four-match series between India and Australia ended as a draw on Monday. Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari batted out 258 balls to help India walk away with a draw and head into the final Test at the Gabba, with the series level at 1-1.
"Especially last five-six overs, we were quite numb. We were counting the number of balls left, apart from that, we all were sure about Ashwin's ability with the bat as to how good he is, Vihari was batting really well throughout the series but he could not get the big scores. Today he showed he can bat really well, our message at tea was to bat one ball at a time and not think too far ahead," said the leader.
Batting out 258 balls with a fierce home team throwing everything it had up its sleeves is no mean feat. But the Indian duo of Vihari and R Ashwin stood ground and managed to do just that as they eked out a draw in what was nothing short of an action-packed fifth day.
A hamstring injury notwithstanding, Vihari hit an unbeaten 161-ball 23 while Ashwin hit 39 off 128 balls as the two defended away any hopes Australia had of registering a win. With an injured Ravindra Jadeja waiting in the pavilion, it was important for the two to ensure they saw India to the end and that is just what they did as the players shook hands with an over left.
