At the Adelaide Oval, the home favourite stood tall, plundering Indian bowlers around the park for the umpteenth time in the last two years. A seventh Test century took Australia well beyond India's first innings total. When his wicket did fall, things got heated as frustrations boiled over from the Indian bowling unit.
After clubbing Siraj for a boundary and a six in the second over with the second new ball, Head played all around Siraj’s attempted-yorker-turned-low-full-toss and lost his stumps after scoring 140 (141).
A mouthful from both sides
The dismissal led to a release of pent up emotions and a heated exchange followed. Siraj’s aggressive celebration was to the disliking of Head and the centurion returned a mouthful of his own before walking off in anger.
The end of a sensational innings! 🗣️#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/kEIlHmgNwT
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 7, 2024
A plethora of boos rang out from the Adelaide Oval as the Indian players rushed in to support their teammate. More boos accompanied Siraj as the newly arrived Mitchell Starc hit him through the covers for four very next ball.
The boos wouldn’t stop even in the following over bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, with Siraj fielding at point. When pushed to the boundary to field deeper, Siraj continued his exchange with the crowd and even taunted them to boo louder.
The incident has polarised the opinions of fans and former cricketers. Sunil Gavaskar, on commentary, thought that the incident was “unnecessary” and completely “uncalled for.” Meanwhile, others thought it was a natural response to a difficult situation and was a sign of competitiveness on the field.
Siraj eventually finished with figures of 4-98 as Australia took a 157-run lead.
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