India vs Australia 2017: Steve Smith brushes aside all allegations by Virat Kohli

What’s the story?

Australian captain Steve Smith has rubbished all claims made by his Indian counterpart Virat Kohli about him taking help from the dressing room for reviews in the Bengaluru Test match.

“It was an error on my behalf. I had a brain fade. In regards to saying we do it consistently is complete rubbish in my opinion. So I think he was wrong in his statement,” said Smith in the pre-match press conference ahead of the third Test.

Incidentally, Virat Kohli played down all the talk around the controversy and believed that both teams should move on and that the focus should be on cricket in the upcoming matches.

The Details

As is the routine before any Test match, both captains will now meet the match referee Richie Richardson before the Test starts on Thursday.

Smith is ready with his questions which he wants to pose to Kohli.

“Perhaps I might be able to ask a few questions. We will see what the mood’s like at the time. Virat obviously stuck by his comments. From my point of view I think they are completely wrong. I obviously came out after the game and said I made a mistake,” Smith insisted.

However, the Australian skipper maintains that he does not carry any bitterness from the Bengaluru Test.

The Context

One week is not a huge time span between two Test matches but this gap between the Bengaluru and Ranchi seem to be an eternity. So much has happened in the process that the focus is bound to shift away from cricket.

First, the Smith ‘brainfade’ when he looked towards to dressing room for a DRS call, which was followed by a scathing attack by Virat Kohli in the post-match press conference. ICC then stepped in and gave clean chits to both captains and then the BCCI slapped a formal complaint only to withdraw it later as both boards decided to bury the hatchet.

There have plenty of reactions and counter-reactions from all corners over the past week over this entire fiasco and hence it would be interesting to see what transpires when the captains face off.

What's next?

Since both captains and boards want the matter to be buried it would be interesting to see what goes on in the meeting between the match referee and the skippers. Also, Smith has already met with the officials as part of his effort to bring back the focus to the game.

Even though Kohli has not budged from his stance, he insists that the focus should now be squarely on the game.

Author's Take

After all the dust settles, the enormity of the match in Ranchi will stare in the faces of both the teams. If Australia wins the match they will clinch the Border-Gavaskar trophy. If India continues their winning momentum, the winner of the trophy will then be decided in Dharamsala.

We can only believe what trickles out from the presser and if both captains are to be believed the focus should be back on the game!