As usual even before India landed in Australia, the local media, with certain ex-cricketers in particular, started the mental disintegration program.  One of the first to fire a salvo was Rodney Hogg, the ex-Aussie pacer, whose bowling average against India was a pathetic 51 runs per wicket, opining that Indian batsmen were a “scared lot” and that the pace of the Aussies would rattle many of them. 

But most Indian observers dismissed those sort of attacks in the media as part of what, Kiwi ex-captain and India ex-coach John Wright, wryly observed in his book Indian Summers as the “same old bull...t.”  Thus the Australians were not quite able to rattle the Indians whose ranks included three ex-captains in Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid, and lots of experienced players such as Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, etc., for whom all this was old hat.  They were also led by the phlegmatic and unflappable Anil Kumble who was even less likely than these grizzled veterans to be bothered by the Aussie attempts at gamesmanship.

In fact it was clear from the start that compared to the mature, gentlemanly Anil Kumble, Ricky Ponting would come across as an immature frat boy and bar-room rowdy.  And that is precisely what happened.  India promptly lost the first Test in Melbourne, having come into it with what minimal chance to acclimatize in their one and only practice game ruined by rain. 

However, by the time the second Test at Sydney started, India had found its groove.  That is when the Aussies went bananas and tried every trick in the book to steal the game from the Indians.  That Ricky Ponting succeeded in doing so thanks to incredibly incompetent and overwhelmingly biased umpiring, was not enough, he also tried to neutralize the one bowler who had the Aussie captain’s number, Harbhajan Singh.

He hatched a plan along with several others to land the volatile Sardar in such a soup with the pliant ICC officials, that he would be packed off for several Tests and his reputation would also be severely tarnished.  On the flimsiest of grounds, Andrew Symonds began a verbal assault on Harbhajan, and when the feisty Indian retaliated in kind, with choice Punjabi swear words, the over-sensitive Symonds, quickly assumed that he was being racially taunted.  Having likely been subjected to such taunting throughout his childhood in school, and in various other settings in Australia it is somewhat understandable that he would be hyper-sensitive to this. 

One can give the benefit of the doubt to the Australian captain that he didn’t actually plan to get Harbhajan in trouble on charges of racism before the incident, but there can be no doubt that once he had the opportunity in front of him to neutralize his nemesis, he latched on to the idea with simple-minded tenacity.  He failed to accept Anil Kumble’s mature suggestion that the matter be resolved on the field itself, with Kumble even proffering an apology for any perceived insult, though there was no question in Kumble’s mind of Harbhajan having used racist taunting against Symonds.  The fact that the umpires heard nothing, Sachin Tendulkar who was nearest to the event, heard nothing, or that the stump microphone didn’t pick up anything, didn’t deter Ponting.  He insisted on pursing a charge of racial abuse against Harbhajan, rail-roading the incompetent Mike Procter, a ICC match referee who has shown a penchant for taking the word of certain individuals over that of others without any proof, such as during the highly controversial decision to force Pakistan to forfeit the Oval Test match a couple of seasons earlier, into banning the Sikh for three Tests. 

What followed the Sydney Test was a real life soap-opera in which the only party that came out with its reputation intact was the Indian captain and his team.  The Indian Board, the Australian Board, The ICC and its officials, and the Australian team (except for a few notable exceptions such as Brett Lee) all came out much worse off.  Ironically when the dust settled the only person who was fined was the hapless Harbhajan, for using foul language.  The Australians Symonds, who instigated the whole incident with his verbal assault on Harbhajan, and Brad Hogg, who admitted using foul language against the Indian captain and vice-captain, were not even given token reprimands, let alone fined or punished in any way.

The incident also served to distract the media from the shockingly incompetent and biased umpiring in the match, which basically handed the match to Ponting and his team on a platter.  The incident also inspired the Indian team to a superb performance in the third Test match at the dreaded WACA cricket ground in Perth.  India achieved one of its most comprehensive and famous wins overseas, but the sweetness of that monumental achievement was drowned by the bitter after-taste of the Sydney fiasco. 

The fourth and final Test at Adelaide was pre-destined for a draw, given the absolutely batting friendly nature of the pitch.  India ended up losing the series 1-2 when it clearly was only outplayed in one Test, and which it could easily have salvaged 1-1 or even won 2-1.

After the Test match series ended, India dropped all the seniors except for Sachin Tendulkar and entered the One-day series under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.  The format and the personnel may have changed, but the Australian modus operandi hardly changed.  They have continued sledging viciously, but discreetly.  They have also continued provoking the Indians and complaining loudly to match officials when the not as sophisticated Indians have retaliated in kind.  Thus Andrew Symonds said something very nasty to Ishant, when the young Indian quickie dismissed him, provoking the inexperienced teenager into a gesture pointing him to the dressing room.  Of course, the match officials promptly cited and fined the youngster but didn’t do anything about the provocation from the vastly more experienced Symonds. 

The latest tactic to unsettle the Indians was Matthew Hayden going on a radio show in Australia and making snide, almost racist, comments about Harbhajan Singh in particular, and the Indians in general, all while pretending to just having a laugh.

These tactics by the Australians clearly show that they are a rattled bunch.  They have found the Indians to be much more competitive and resilient than they ever imagined.  The veneer of invincibility that they had prior to India challenging them successfully in their own home both in Tests and One-day games, has faded badly.  India may yet lose the One-day final, and few could blame them, after all a three match final after playing what seems like an endless series of league games is hardly the most inspiring thing, especially at the fag end of a long tour.  However, by provoking the Indians like this, the Australians may have inadvertently given the jaded Indians, just the inspiration they need.

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