Ponting accuses India of crossing the line
Posted on Oct 21, 2008 at 14:16 | Updated Oct 22, 2008 at 12:00
6 Comments
Mohali: Ricky Ponting did not say it in unambiguous terms but the Australian skipper believes Indian cricketers overstepped the line in the war of words that surrounded the just-concluded second Test.
Ponting said he did not have problems with friendly banters but suggested the Indians got carried away at times.
"Bit of chit-chat is something okay with all and it's only when you overstep the line that the umpires intervene. And umpires intervened a couple of times, like the one involving Zaheer Khan yesterday," Ponting said in the post-match press conference.
"India dictated terms in the match and they were probably trying to impose themselves," Ponting said.
Matthew Hayden was visibly annoyed with an animated Zaheer after Harbhajan Singh dismissed the Australian on Monday. On his way back, Hayden gestured to square leg umpire Rudy Kuertzen, expressing his complete dismay at the incident.
Ponting said India played an aggressive brand of cricket and that was very much evident by the way they talked.
"They were pretty aggressive the way they were talking, batting and bowling," Ponting said.
India's stand-in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, however, sought to play down the war of words that was going on in the middle.
Inquired about what the umpires told him after that incident involving Zaheer, Dhoni was at his evasive best, saying, "Nothing particular, it was about some chit-chat there."
Asked by an Australian journalist if he felt his team-mates crossed the line, Dhoni said, "It's up to the match referee to decide. We were playing aggressive cricket and I think this kind of chit-chat is okay till we don't cross the boundary."
On whether it was part of the ploy to beat the Aussies, Dhoni said, "We played good, consistent cricket to beat them and it was not because of any verbal war. Had it been so, we would have hired a couple of guys who are good at that and won it.
"A bit of verbal chit-chat is good, because it brings some excitement to the game," he added with a mischievous smile.
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Total Comments: 6
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Posted By zapper77
Well, Indians keep on crying about sydney. But have they ever analysed that they lost 3 wickets in 5 balls
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Posted By zapper77
Wat abt dhoni claiming one bounce catch at Mohali?
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Posted By toupge
All this talk about chit-chat is a stupid idea. Anybody who wants to chit-chat should do it after the match
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Posted By raghav_986
Ponting is very angry as our team exposed their team's weakness.But he may comeback strongly.He has no right to accuse
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Posted By rahulnairhari24
IF HE REFERS THIS AS \"CROSSING THE LINE \" THEN WHAT SHOULD THE INDIANS CALL THE INCIDENT TOOK PLACE IN
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