2008 Sydney
The 2008 Sydney Test is one of the few Test matches which always will be remembered for the controversies rather than the actual game. Some very poor levels of umpiring that widely went against the Indian cricket team and the famous “Monkeygate” incident happened during this Test match. Apart from that, there were some other controversies were Brad Hogg’s unsportsmanlike conduct, Australian team failed to maintain to play that game with the spirit of the game.
That controversial second Test of that series began on January 2, 2008, where the Australian skipper Ricky Ponting decided to bat first. Andrew Symonds’ 162 unbeaten and some crucial lower-order knocks helped Australia to manage 463 runs while at once they were struggling on 134/6. The centurion Symonds got some crucial lives at the early stages as the umpires denied his dismissals for numerous times in that innings.
In reply, Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 154 and VVS Laxman’s 109 helped the Indian cricket team to score 532 runs. Apart from the other top-order batsmen, the lower-order batsman Harbhajan Singh also made an important contribution of 63 runs. Aussie pacer Brett Lee (5/119) picked up five wickets in that innings.
Starting their second innings trailing by 69 runs, Australia managed to declare their innings on 401/7, thanks to Matthew Hayden’s 123 and Michael Hussey’s unbeaten 145. Andrew Symonds also scored 61 runs in that innings.
Chasing down the 333 runs target, the Indian cricket team again faced the poor umpiring mistakes in the crucial times. However, the visitors still battled well and they were very close to draw as they had three wickets in hands and only 12 balls left to survive. But the left-arm spinner Michael Clarke’s magic secured a 122 runs victory for Australia as India was bowled out on 210 runs while India had just seven balls left to survive in that game. In that penultimate over of the game, Clarke picked three wickets in five balls. Symonds won the Player of the Match award for his all-round performances as he also picked up three wickets in the fourth innings and Australia took the 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series.
