India pacer Mohammed Siraj has claimed that Travis Head "abused" him first during a heated exchange following the batter’s dismissal on day two of the Adelaide Test.
At the Adelaide Oval, Head again proved to be a thorn in India's side. Coming in at No.5, he struck a blazing hundred to give Australia a significant first-innings lead. After smashing Siraj for a four and a six in the second over with the second new ball, Head was knocked over by an inswinging yorker from the fast bowler, and was out for a 141-ball 140. Siraj gave an animated send-off to Head, who returned a mouthful to the pacer before walking back to the dugout.
In the press conference after the second day, Head clarified that he had jokingly said "well bowled" to Siraj after his dismissal: "It probably [went] a little bit far, that's why I'm disappointed in the reaction I gave back but I'm also going to stand up for myself. Like to think in our team we wouldn't do that. [It's] not the way I'd like to play the game and feel like my teammates are the same. If I see that, I probably call it out, which I did."
Australia outclassed India in Adelaide to level the scores in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) December 8, 2024
Scorecard ➡️https://t.co/juNshKddUE pic.twitter.com/BWLSq4BIak
But Siraj, speaking to Star Sports before the start of day three, denied Head’s claims, saying the Australia batter was the one to ignite the altercation.
"I was enjoying bowling to him, it was a good battle. He batted well. At the end of the day, as a bowler when he hits you for six of your good ball, something stirs in the blood, inside you (smiles) – the passion rises. I was just celebrating but his abuse can be seen on television. If you see, at the start I didn’t say a word. Later, at the press conference, he said wrong things – he claimed he said 'well bowled' to me; but that’s a lie. There was no ‘well bowled’ that I could see," Siraj said.
"We respect everyone, it's not like we disrespect other players. I respect everybody because cricket is a gentleman's game, but what he did wasn't right. I didn't like it at all."
The two, however, seemingly made peace with the incident. Siraj came out to bat during India’s second innings amidst boos from the crowd. Head, standing at short leg was seen having a chat with him and could be heard clarifying that the events that transpired after day two's incident were "nothing personal".
Just a couple of mates clarifying things...#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/XzcInyAKLK
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 8, 2024
With a 157-run first-innings deficit to bridge, India were bowled out for 175. The hosts chased the meagre target comfortably to level the five-match series 1-1.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
