ByMatt Wade andNew Delhi
EFFIGIES of Australian captain Ricky Ponting and test umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson were burnt by furious Indian cricket fans yesterday.
The Delhi-basedHindustan Times quoted a "senior player" in the Indian side as saying the final day of the Sydney Test had been a "terrible day".
"We have been treated unfairly by the umpires, cheated of a favourable result in the match, are playing a team that cheats and lies quite blatantly, even while pretending to uphold the spirit of the game. The worst of it is, they get away with everything, every dirty tactic, every dubious call."
Former Indian test players spewed venom on the standard of umpiring in the Sydney Test match.
Madan Lal, an all-rounder who played for India in the 1970s, said Indian players felt umpiring in Australia had been biased against them in the past but was not expected in the era of neutral officials.
"It always happened in the past in Australia, but now matches are televised, there are neutral umpires; it is sheer bad umpiring," he said.
There were expressions of shock and disbelief after news filtered out on Sunday night that Harbhajan Singh had been banned for three matches for a racist comment directed at all-rounder Andrew Symonds.
Public interest in the events on and off the field was so intense that several Indian television channels ran live coverage from outside the late-night hearing against Harbhajan.
The decision to ban him was announced at 4.30am Melbourne time, after a six-hour hearing.
Feelings about the Sydney Test have been running high since the first day, when several umpiring decisions went against the Indian team. This intensified following the heated exchange between Harbhajan and Symonds that resulted in the Indian spinner being cited.
The Asian Age accused Ricky Ponting's team of being "cry baby Aussies" after five witnesses were assembled to testify against Harbhajan.
Several former players including former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar have expressed surprise that Australia, of all teams, would complain about a verbal exchange on the field.
"Australia have dished out many obnoxious things against other teams be it from Asia or England," Gavaskar said.
* Indian anger has targeted Ponting.The Times of India carried a front page photo of him with his finger in the air with the caption: "Ponting Fourth Umpire?" An editorial in theHindustan Times said the umpiring was so bad that the Sydney Test "has the stink of being fixed".
WithBEN DOHERTY