As India lose the second Test at Sydney, the cricketing fraternity is up in arms over the bad decisions meted out to India. Even as a headstrong Ponting defends his decisions, gestures and insinuations, a multitude of the people who follow the game and know its nuances like the back of their hand seem to believe that India could have salvaged at least a draw had the umpiring been fair. A seething Kumble displays extraordinary composure in this interview to Harsha Bhogle. Kumble later gave an indication of the general feeling in the Indian camp saying “Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game, that’s all I can say” - a line very characteristic of a player who rates honesty and commitment to the game very high.

The sportsmanship of the Aussies takes a severe beating at Churumuri, where E.R. Ramachandran says -

“Without Shane Warne, McGrath and Adam Gilchrist after a season or two, Australia will face the reality. They will lose more matches than they have done in the last couple of decades. But it is their behaviour the crowds will watch. Luckily, the West Indians, despite clobbering the opposition into total silence in the 1970s and ’80s, played and lived like true champions. They were true sportsmen both in victory and defeat. They are the true role models.”

He also lists out the times Aussies have thrown tantrums when they found themselves on the backfoot.  They also have a poll to find out if India should consider pulling out.

Meanwhile, Peter Roebuck writes for the Sydney Morning Herald -

“It was a rotten contest that singularly failed to elevate the spirit … Despite the amiability of many players, Ponting’s team is developing an unwanted reputation for being headstrong and precious. Matthew Hayden’s belittling of Anil Kumble’s bowling at the MCG was a case in point.”

 At the start of this series, Ponting may have been hopeful that three consecutive wins could help him break Steve Waugh’s record, and make him the most successful captain. This win would have certainly satisfied his hunger, but it definitely wouldn’t have tasted good.