The heated verbal exchange between Travis Head and Mohammed Siraj lit up the Adelaide Oval in the recently concluded pink-ball Test which was handsomely won by Australia by 10 wickets. Tempers flared and words were exchanged the moment Siraj knocked Head over with an unplayable yorker. Head's blistering 140 powered Australia to a crushing win over India but the debate regarding their on-field altercation continues to rage on. 

Although, while speaking about his performance at the end of the day's play, Head claimed that he said 'well bowled' to Siraj after being bowled but his claim was quickly confronted by Siraj and his ardent supporters back home. Head claimed that Siraj had misunderstood him but the latter rubbished his claims and stated that no such comment was mentioned by Head at the time of his dismissal. 

See also: Mohammed Siraj claims Travis Head lied about heated moment in Adelaide Test

Matthew Hayden weighs in on this ongoing spat

The ongoing verbal row has attracted the attention of former Australian batting legend Matthew Hayden. While taking his countryman's side, Hayden opined that he could "lip-read" and felt that Head had indeed said "well bowled" instead of something far more sinister as Siraj had suggested earlier.  

"There is no need to take further action on that. It was an incident that neither party really enjoyed. I don't think the cricket public enjoys that sort of reaction. He has bowled a wonderful ball, let's not forget that. An innings that was absolutely superb, it was a really significant moment. The removal of Travis Head. He said 'well bowled'. I could lip-read. But I suppose, in the heat of the battle there is going always going to be misinterpretation. But the point is my opinion, all is fair in love and war when it comes to the actual removal of the batter."

But Hayden refrained from raining the alarm bells and suggested that such occurrences are fairly common in high-octane rivalries. Since their infamous spat, both Head and Siraj were seen hugging each other by the end of the match thus burying the hatchet and resolving the misunderstandings that had cropped up during the second Test. 

What happened next?

The on-field verbal altercation brought the game into a momentary disrepute and the action did not go unnoticed by ICC. Quite understandably, both Head and Siraj have been penalized by the ICC by issuing one demerit point. As with the series, the ongoing five-match BGT series stands at 1-1 with the next Test slated to be played in Brisbane on December 14. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has punished both the Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj and the Australian batter Travis Head for their involvement in the on-field heated argument during the recently concluded Adelaide Test. 

During the second day of the day-night pink ball Adelaide Test match between Australia and India, when Siraj bowled Head, the Indian pacer had a furious celebration. While Head voiced that, the Indian pacer gave a send-off by gesturing towards the dressing room.

Mohammed Siraj and Travis Head received one demerit point; Siraj also fined

Both Siraj and Head have been punished for that incident. While both have received one demerit point each, the Indian pacer has additionally received a 20% fine of the match fees. It was the first offence for both players within the last 24 months. 

Head has been sanctioned for breaching Article 2.13 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to the “abuse of a player, player support personnel, umpire or match referee during an international match.”

On the other hand, Siraj has breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon dismissal."

Match referee Ranjan Madugalle proposed those sanctions. Both players have admitted their respective offences and accepted the respective sanctions. 

See Also: Harbhajan Singh recalls controversial Sydney 'Monkeygate' Test in 2008

Both gave different views

After the stumps of the second day, Head claimed that he jokingly said to Siraj, 'well bowled'. He also claimed that he was surprised at Siraj's reaction and disappointed with his return reaction. 

However, Siraj had a different claim. The Indian pacer said that Head lied about that incident by claiming his only saying 'well bowled'. According to Siraj, Head started the on-field confrontation by abusing him. 

During the evening of the opening day of the Adelaide Test, frustrated Siraj threw the ball at the batter Marnus Labuschagne for stopping him from delivering the ball at the last moment due to movement at the sight screen.

While India were struggling against the Australian pacers in the day-night pink ball Adelaide Test match, the new Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy stunned the cricket fans with his incredible shot.

The five-match Test series Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 has now entered the second round. Leading the series by 1-0, Indian captain Rohit Sharma chose to bat first. After the first ball dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill handled the early period really well. 

However, the left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc dominated from just before the dinner break to the end of the visitors’ innings. Powerful Starc recorded his best bowling figures in a Test innings, 14.1-2-48-6, and India were all out for 180 runs.

Watch: Siraj loses his cool over Labuschagne, hurls the ball back at him in anger

Brave Nitish Kumar Reddy scored crucial 42 runs

While the Indian batters struggled against the Aussie fast bowlers, Nitish Kumar Reddy showed his brave character with the bat. His firing 42 off 54 balls with the help of three fours and three sixes guided the visitors to cross the 150-run mark. 

The 21-year-old right-handed batter Reddy provided big proof of his understanding of the game, even when his team was massively under pressure on a challenging batting track. After Ravichandran Ashwin was dismissed for a run-a-ball 22 runs, where the experienced batter was in good touch before his dismissal, Reddy decided to charge the Aussie fast bowlers.  

Nitish Kumar Reddy hit an unorthodox sixer against Boland

Whether the bowler was Mitchell Starc or Scott Boland, Reddy had no hesitation if the ball reached his slot. It was the 42nd over of the innings when Reddy hit a sixer with an unorthodox shot. Boland delivered a length ball, and Reddy quickly set up a position to create a perfect reverse scoop to hit a sixer. It was the time when India had already lost eight wickets and Reddy was the only hope to add runs on the board. 

Although Reddy was dismissed by Mitchell Starc, it can’t shadow his outstanding cameo batting performance.    

THIS IS CINEMA! 🙌

Pink ball, seaming conditions & bowlers breathing fire - doesn't matter to #NitishReddy! 💪#AUSvINDOnStar 2nd Test 👉 LIVE NOW on Star Sports! #AUSvIND | #ToughestRivalry pic.twitter.com/IM9HaBrv63

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 6, 2024

The pink-ball Test in Adelaide has kicked off in full swing and plenty of drama has unfolded on day one already. In a bizarre twist of events, Marnus Labuschagne decided to pull out at the last minute after being distracted by what's described as "beer snake".

See also: Watch: Pink-ball Test witnesses a rare floodlight blackout in Adelaide

Watch how the incident unfolded

• Man runs behind the sight screen with a beer snake
• Marnus pulls away while Siraj is running in
• Siraj is not happy

All happening at Adelaide Oval 🫣 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/gRburjYhHg

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 6, 2024

The incident came to light during the 25th over of the Australian innings in the final session on day one. Siraj was running in to bowl the fifth ball of the over. But that is when Marnus spotted a spectator holding on to a tower of multiple beer glasses stacked on each other. 

Funnily enough, the movement occurred in front of the sightscreen which immediately threw the 30-year-old off his normal stance position. Moments before Siraj could enter his delivery stride, Marnus pulled out causing the former to vent out his frustration. In response, he threw the ball towards Marnus but the ball missed him as well as the stumps by a considerable distance. 

The umpire rightfully intervened and signaled dead ball but by that time the two players had already exchanged a few words. The frustration from Siraj was justified. A bowler works tirelessly to run all the way through to the crease but all that energy evaporates in thin air when they are forced to halt just moments before delivering the ball.

The commentators on air also voiced their frustration on this incident and called out the security personnel for not adopting adequate preventive measures to let this happen.

Australia in total command on day one

Starc's career-best 6-48 skittled India for 180 despite late heroics from Nitish Reddy who scored a blazing 42 (54). In response, Australia navigated a difficult passage of play under lights with the help of McSweeney and Labuschagne who finished unbeaten on 38 & 20 respectively to raise Australia's first innings score to healthy 86-1 at the close of play on day one. 

The day-night pink ball Adelaide Test is taking a tough test on the visitors India, who had a hard opening day of the Test match. Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc completely dominated with the ball, and then the Aussie top orders handled the Jasprit Bumrah-led Indian bowling line-up very well.  

At the 1-0 series lead, Indian captain Rohit Sharma chose to bat first after winning the toss on his return. While India were all out for 180 runs, Australia ended the opening day with 86/1 and trailing by 94 runs.

Watch: Siraj loses his cool over Labuschagne, hurls the ball back at him in anger

Dramas in the first innings

After the opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was out by Mitchell Starc on the first ball of the Test match, another opener KL Rahul and the no.3 batter Shubman Gill produced a strong start for India. Although Rahul was lucky in Scott Boland's first over as his dismissal was ruled out due to a no-ball and another chance drop, he then controlled the next period very well. Rahul and Gill had a 69-run partnership for the second wicket before Mitchell Starc started to dominate with the ball.

At the dinner, India were in trouble at 82/4 due to a fall of three quick wickets. At first, Starc broke the second-wicket partnership as the opener Rahul lost his wicket after scoring 37 runs. In his next over, Starc took the wicket of Virat Kohli for just seven runs. Boland then dismissed Shubman Gill for 31 runs.

In the second session, Australian bowlers dominated. While captain Rohit Sharma scored only three runs before Boland took his wicket, Rishabh Pant (21) was dismissed by Cummins. Ravichandran Ashwin also showed some fight with his run-a-ball 22 runs with three fours before Starc took his wicket. 

Nitish Kumar Reddy fought hard till the end and scored a brave 42 runs off 54 balls with three fours and three sixes. His batting helped India to cross the 150-run mark as he was the last batter to be dismissed. Before Starc took his wicket, India scored 180 runs. 

Mitchell Starc bagged six wickets in the innings. The left-arm fast bowler had the bowling figures of 14.1-2-48-6. It was his best bowling figures in a Test innings. Scott Boland (2/54) and captain Pat Cummins (2/41) took two wickets each.

Australian batters were in control

Although Jasprit Bumrah broke the 24-run opening partnership by dismissing experienced Usman Khawaja for 13 runs, another opener Nathan McSweeney and the no.3 batter Marnus Labuschagne batted strongly in the opening day evening. While McSweeney scored 38 not out off 97 balls, Labuschagne scored 20 not out off 67 balls. Indian bowlers fought hard but it was not a day for them. At the stumps of day one, the Australian unbroken second wicket partnership has added 62 runs. 

A comedy of errors ensued during the pink-ball Test in Adelaide as the floodlights went out of order, plunging the entire stadium into darkness. Everything came to a standstill during the last session of the Australian innings as one of the floodlights in the stadium malfunctioned causing the game to come to an abrupt halt. 

Not just once but twice did the floodlights go out of order. The incident took place during the 18th over of the Australian innings. Harshit Rana was the concerned bowler and the sudden blackout caused him to abort his run-up twice. However, in the end, the floodlight was restored but not before everyone saw the funny side of the incident. 

See also: Adelaide Test: Two huge lucks in one over for KL Rahul

Watch the entire incident unfold here:

The lights went out twice in quick succession at Adelaide Oval, but play has resumed. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/u6Jtd39Utc

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 6, 2024

The incident unfolded when McSweeney was taking against Harshit Rana. Just two balls into the 18th over, the lights suddenly went off and the players started aimlessly wandering into the darkness. However, the blackout was brief, and after a few minutes play resumed.

But a couple of balls later, the lights went off again and this time the players were visibly not happy. It got pretty dark and the fans in the stands had to resort to turning on their phone torches to bring light to the stadium.  

The delay was of a considerable amount this time which also prompted a reaction from India's vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah who could be seen having an animated chat with the umpire Illingworth.

The cause behind the floodlight failure is still to be determined but fortunately, the issue was swiftly resolved and there was no harm done on the field.  At the time of writing, Australia were looking to dig in hard and survive the remaining few overs to navigate the final session of the day unscathed with McSweeney and Labuschagne unbeaten on 31 & 17 respectively. 

The Adelaide day-night pink-ball Test match started in a dramatic fashion. After the opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed on the first ball, his opening partner KL Rahul got two huge lucks in one over.

After deciding to bat first, Rohit Sharma-led team India had a poor start as Yashsavi Jaiswal was dismissed on the first ball of the match as Mitchell Starc trapped him for a lbw. Since then, Shubman Gill has been playing very well while the other opener KL Rahul was struggling to get off the mark. 

No-ball saved KL Rahul's caught behind 

Scott Boland joined the Australian playing XI for the pink-ball Test as the replacement for the injured Josh Hazlewood. It was the first ball of Boland in this series, who came to bowl in the eighth over, and he was successful in trapping Rahul. The extra bounce worked in the favour of Boland as Rahul had a thick edge and was caught behind. While Rahul was walking back to the dressing room for 0 off 19 balls, English umpire Richard Illingworth signaled a no-ball, which saved the Indian opener.  

Usman Khawaja dropped Rahul

In that same over, Boland set up for another good opportunity. The Aussie pacer delivered a full-length ball that found a thick edge from Rahul’s bat and went to the first slip. Usman Khawaja was fielding at the first slip, and he dropped the low catch. 

Rahul scored 37 runs

Ultimately Rahul scored a crucial 37 runs off 64 balls with the help of six fours before Starc took his wicket just before the dinner. It was Starc's new spell, where the left-arm fast bowler set up a short-of-length delivery, an extra bounce trapped unconfident Rahul who had a thick edge. Nathan McSweeney took a sharp low catch at the gully. 

'KL'ucky Rahul! 😮‍💨#ScottBoland’s dramatic start to the #PinkBallTest: No-ball dismissal of #KLRahul on the first delivery and a dropped catch on the fifth ball! 🏏🎭

Will he make it BIG now? 👀#AUSvINDOnStar 2nd Test 👉 LIVE NOW on Star Sports! #AUSvIND | #ToughestRivalry pic.twitter.com/dCYLDKv2Pd

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 6, 2024

Team India is in a great mood before the second Test of the five-match Test series against the hosts Australia. Adelaide Oval in Adelaide is set to host the second Test, which will be a day-night pink-ball Test match, starting on December 6.

India started the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia with a big win by 295 runs. So, the visitors India, who won all the last four Border-Gavaskar Trophies, are leading the Test series by 1-0. As both teams are battling to secure the top two places in the ongoing 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship to qualify for the final, it is an important Test series for both teams.

Here, we will see India’s predicted XI for the second Test at Adelaide Oval. 

Top-order batters

Although captain Rohit Sharma is set to return to the playing XI, Yashsavi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are likely to open for India in the Adelaide Test. They opened in the recent Canberra day-night pink-ball practice match against the Prime Minister’s XI and set a 75-run opening partnership. If Rohit opens with the Perth Test centurion Jaiswal, Rahul then can bat in the middle order. 

As Shubman Gill is also set to return, the right-handed batter is likely to keep his third place in the batting line-up. 

See Also: KL Rahul gives a cheeky reply on his batting position in the Adelaide Test

Middle-order batters

Perth Test centurion Virat Kohli is undoubtedly to bat at no.4. Captain Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul, who will not open with Jaiswal, is likely to bat at the no.5 position. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is likely to bat in the no. position. However, according to the situation, the no.5 and no.6 places can be altered.

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who impressed with the bat in both innings on his Test debut at Perth can be even promoted to the no.7 position.   

Spinner(s)

As Adelaide Oval will host the pink-ball Test match, we are likely to see only one spinner from India. While Washington Sundar played the last Test at Perth, experienced Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are also in the team. However, for the pink-ball Test, we may see no change in the spin-bowling option. Sundar can bat at no.7 or no.8 according to the situation. While Ashwin can also bat at no.7 or no.8, Jadeja’s presence means the all-rounder is most likely to bat at no.7. 

Pacer(s)

Most likely, India will go with the same pace bowling options as the Perth Test. So, the vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace-bowling lineup along with Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana. While Bumrah won the Player of the Match award in the Perth Test for picking up eight wickets, including a fifer, Siraj bagged five wickets (2/20 and 3/51), and Test debutant Rana took four wickets (3/48 and 1/69). The 22-year-old Rana also shined in the pink-ball practice match against PM XI at Canberra by picking four wickets in six deliveries. 

India’s predicted XI: Yashsavi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj. 

Possible out(s): Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel 

Possible in(s): Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill

Former Indian pacer and present chairman of the BCCI’s men’s national selection committee, Ajit Agarkar became 47 years old on December 4, 2024. On his 47th birthday, we are going back to the memory when the right-arm pacer destroyed the Australian batting line-up and set a memorable Test win at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.

It was the second Test of the four-match Test series between the hosts Australia and the visitors India in the 2003-04 season. After the Australian captain Steve Waugh chose to bat first, Australia scored 556 runs, thanks to Ricky Ponting’s double century (242). 

Dravid and Laxman rescued India

In reply, India were once struggling at 85/4 before Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman produced another unforgettable 303-run partnership for the fifth wicket. While Dravid scored 233 runs, Laxman scored 148 runs. India ultimately scored 523 runs before they were all out. 

Ajit Agarkar took six wickets

Australia started their second innings with a lead of 33 runs. While the fans were expecting a draw result in that Test match, Ajit Agarkar’s bowling performance stunned the cricket world. Before the lunch of the fourth day of that Adelaide Test, Agarkar dismissed the opener Justin Langer (10) and Ricky Ponting (0). While Ponting scored a double-century in the first innings, Langer scored a half-century in that innings. 

Later, Ashish Nehra and Anil Kumble took one wicket each, while Sachin Tendulkar picked up two wickets in his seven balls. Then, Agarkar destroyed the late batting orders, as the right-arm pacer picked up four wickets in his four overs. He dismissed Andy Bichel (1), Simon Katich (31), Jason Gillespie (3), and Stuart McGill (1).

India won the Adelaide Test by four wickets

After picking up two wickets in the first innings of the Test match, Agarkar finished the third innings with the bowling figures of 16.2-2-41-6. His destructive bowling resulted in Australia being bundled out for 196 runs. Although the 230-run target wasn’t easy for the visitors India in the fourth innings, Rahul Dravid once again batted strongly and got support from the other end to claim a historic four-wicket win. Dravid ended the game with the winning boundary and remained not out for 72 runs. 

While Dravid deservingly won the Player of the Match award, Agarkar’s contribution was equally important to that historic victory. It was Agarkar’s only Test five-wicket haul as he claimed 58 wickets in 26 Tests. 

India, under the leadership of stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah, floored the mighty Australian in Perth to gain an early unassailable 1-0 lead in the first Test of the five-match BGT 2024-25 series. With the attention now turning to Adelaide for the second Test, visuals of India's in-famous 36-10 loom large.

Despite conceding a sizeable first-innings lead, Australian quicks came all guns blazing to skittle India cheaply for 36, which remains to be the lowest-ever score achieved by a full-member nation in Test cricket's 147-year-long history. 

See also: 'We're still no.1' Cummins refutes rift claims despite a brutal 295-run hammering at Perth

Damian Hough's thoughts on the Adelaide pitch

As the countdown for the all-important pink-ball Test approaches its fag end, Adelaide Oval pitch curator Damian Hough makes a bold claim. Hough anticipates the pitch to behave evenly offering ample assistance to both the batters and the bowlers alike. However, he refrained from picking his favorite side. 

"No, I don’t know who has the upper hand. May the best team win. But yeah, look, we’re just trying to produce a typical Adelaide Oval pitch, so hopefully, there’s something in it for everyone. Since 2015, we’ve probably tried to prepare the same style and characteristics of pitches for all longer formats of cricket, whether it’s Test matches or first-class cricket."

Hough further stressed that since the advent of day-night Test matches in 2015, he has had to remodel his strategy and do away with drop-in pitches which at the time was seen as a prevalent concept. 

A peek into the day-night Test record of India & Australia

Australia are arguably the most successful team in day-night Test cricket having a near-invincible win record of nearly 92%. In 12 D/N Tests, Australia have managed to win 11 while their sole defeat came against West Indies at the Gabba earlier this year.

India, on the other hand, have played four and won three so far with their biggest defeat being at the Adelaide four years ago. On the backdrop of a famous win in Perth, it is highly unlikely that we will see such a disastrous show from them again but given India's stance in the WTC points table, the stakes are high and the visitors can't afford to lower their guard against a side who are now seeking an imminent revenge.