Why does the Genie of Controversies come out on the grounds of Melbourne?

melbourneWith the results of victory in Perth, defeat in Adelaide and draw in Brisbane, the caravan of the Indian team has reached Melbourne, the city where controversies follow the Indian team and then the tension of the players remains more in the headlines than the game. This time too, as soon as the Indian team reached Melbourne, the confrontation with the Australian media and sometimes the dispute over the practice pitch were in the headlines. The match has not even started yet, just imagine what will happen if the match starts because the taste of what is being cooked outside the ground will not be available inside the ground, it is not visible if this happens.

Anyway, history has been witness to the fact that the genie of controversies often comes out in Melbourne and the grounds of Melbourne are transformed into Mahabharata. From 1981 to 2021, there is no such match in which India and Australia faced each other and there was no controversy. In 40 years, India played 14 matches on the Melbourne grounds and in every match something or the other happened which got recorded in the pages of history.

Pant became Pushpa 2 in 2021

After being all out on 36 in Adelaide, when Team India reached Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test, Virat had gone home and the command of the team came into the hands of Ajinkya Rahane and along with him/her got a team which was equipped with youthful enthusiasm. The team had players like Shubhman Gill and Rishabh Pant who believed in tit-for-tat. A lot of words were exchanged every day of the Boxing Day Test match of 2021, especially behind the wicket, Pant distracted the attention of the Australian players a lot. Then when Pant came to bat, the then Australian captain Tim Paine also did the same. This battle, which started from Melbourne, went to Brisbane last time where India won the Test and then the series.

Kohli’s anger in 2014

During the 2014 Australia tour, there was a fierce dispute between Virat and Johnson. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, one of Johnson’s balls hit Kohli’s helmet and abusive language was used between the two. Virat was close to his/her century after scoring 88 runs when Mitchell Johnson started troubling him/her. When Virat did not get upset, Johnson threw the ball directly to Virat. As soon as the ball hit him/her, Virat fell on the ground and after that there was a heated argument between the two. The controversy did not end here, while bowling, Johnson also hit many bouncers aiming at Virat’s head. Virat’s fiancee Anushka was also watching this entire incident at that time. This was an incident which is remembered even today.

Gavaskar’s anger in 1981

In the 1980-81 series, the Australian players sledged so much that the angry Little Master started asking to end the Test match itself. Actually, this incident is from the Melbourne Test. Dennis Lillee’s low ball hit the pad after hitting Sunil Gavaskar’s bat. When the bowler appealed, umpire Rex Whitehead also gave Gavaskar out. But Gavaskar, who was famous for turning towards the pavilion even before the umpire could raise his/her finger, started saying that he/she was not out. Meanwhile, Dennis Lillee came to Gavaskar and touched his/her pad and started telling him/her that he/she was out. When Captain Gavaskar, disappointed by this, started returning towards the pavilion, an Australian player said some abusive words to Gavaskar. What happened next, Little Master became so angry that he/she pushed Chetan Chauhan, who was standing at the non-strike end, and asked him/her to return to the pavilion. Chetan Chauhan was also forced to leave the field and return. All the Australian players were shocked to see this incident. At that time, Indian team manager Salim Durrani stopped Chauhan from coming out of the field and somehow hushed up the matter.

tag: Border Gavaskar Trophy, india vs australia, india vs australia melbourne test, pat cummins, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli