Video footage refutes Virat Kohli’s claim Australia cheated with DRS

CRICKET Australia has declared war on India and their vitriolic captain Virat Kohli for suggesting Steve Smith is a cheat.

UPDATE: CRICKET Australia has declared war on India and their vitriolic captain Virat Kohli for suggesting Steve Smith is a cheat, with chief executive James Sutherland launching an impassioned defence of his skipper’s integrity.

Relations between cricket’s two great super powers are at breaking point, with no arbitrator to keep the peace now that ICC match referee Chris Broad has left the country without laying any charges against either team.

BEN HORNE: ICC must throw book at Kohli

DISASTER ZONE: How No. 6 has become our liability

Kohli is responsible for sparking one of the ugliest stand-offs in recent Test history by sensationally claiming he had been at the crease to witness Australia twice attempting to confer with their dressing room when deliberating DRS referrals, and that he immediately alerted umpires to the alleged cheating.

At this stage he has produced no proof to back up his explosive and damaging allegations, and video footage examined from Kohli’s two batting innings in Bangalore strongly supports Australian coach Darren Lehmann’s vehement stance that his side has never cheated with DRS.

Indian captain Virat Kohli celebrates the dismissal of Australia’s Matthew Wade.

Asked if there was any basis to Kohli’s scathing accusations of systematic cheating, Lehmann responded: “Never, ever, ever.”

Sutherland went harder and unleashed a stinting attack on Kohli, the powerful BCCI and anyone who has questioned Smith or Australia’s ethics.

“I find the allegations questioning the integrity of Steve Smith, the Australian team and the dressing room, outrageous,” said Sutherland.

“Steve is an outstanding cricketer and person, and role model to many aspiring cricketers and we have every faith that there was no ill-intent in his actions.

“We reject any commentary that suggests our integrity was brought into disrepute or that systemic unfair tactics are used, and stand by Steve and the Australian Cricketers who are proudly representing our country.”

The BCCI then responded with force to Sutherland’s statement, trumpeting Kohli as an ambassador for the game.

“The BCCI after due deliberation and seeing the video replays of the episode steadfastly stands with the Indian cricket team and its captain Mr Virat Kohli,” the statement said.

“Mr Virat Kohli is a mature and seasoned cricketer and his conduct on the field has been exemplary.

“BCCI sincerely hopes that the rest of the matches are played in the true spirit of cricket.”

Michael Clarke and Sourav Ganguly added weight to Kohli’s theory by casting their own doubts over whether Steve Smith’s self-confessed offence on day four was in fact an innocent one-off.

The former Australian captain pointed to Peter Handscomb’s involvement as suspect, and Indian great Ganguly made the scandalous allegation he has in fact seen members of the Australian camp giving signals from the stands.

However, Handscomb has claimed he didn’t know the DRS rules and a thorough examination of the tape of Kohli’s two innings suggests the Indian skipper’s post-match attack is unfounded.

There was only one time during Kohli’s stay in the middle when Australia launched a significant appeal, and on that occasion it appeared Smith and his troops shut down any prospect of a referral straight away, with absolutely no vision to suggest they had looked to the rooms.

The vision backs up the assertion from match referee Board that umpires were not concerned with Australia’s behaviour during DRS consultations at any point other than the Smith flashpoint and that the captain would not face punishment.

Lehmann stridently defended the integrity of his dressing room and claimed his side has shed their “ugly Australians” tag.

Australian captain Steve Smith has a discussion with teammate Mitchell Starc.

“He (Kohli) has his opinion and we have ours, but at the end of the day we play the game the right way,” said Lehmann.

“We’re very surprised to hear that, but it’s their opinion.

“We’ll leave it with the ICC.”

Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Steve O’Keefe were all guilty of giving send-offs, but Lehmann said he was proud of the behaviour of his team in a heated encounter fuelled by Kohli.

“Probably on their side (there might be fractured relations), but I’ll say we were very good with the way we went about it in trying to play the game the way that we want to play it,” he said.“Gone are the days when we used to be probably the other way, and I was part of that as an Australian side.

“The young guys, the way they want to portray themselves and encourage people to play the game and enjoy the game has been exceptional.

“So I’m really proud of the way they went about it this game, even though we lost.”

I referred smudga to look at the box... my fault and was unaware of the rule. Shouldn't take anything away from what was an amazing game!

— Peter Handscomb (@phandscomb54) March 7, 2017

Clarke believes the key role played by Handscomb in the DRS scandal that caught the ire of on-field umpire Nigel Llong has cast doubts over Australia’s adamant claim that the incident was an isolated “brain fade”.

Clarke, who was working on the match for broadcaster Star Sports and commentated the drama surrounding Smith’s dismissal, later said he has concerns over video replays showing it was Handscomb who first suggested to Steve Smith to look upstairs to the team box for guidance on a referral.

Clarke said he wanted to reserve full judgement until more details become clear, however, the former Test skipper says he has concerns over whether Smith’s “brain fade” argument is legitimate when Handscomb is shown to be the man who first motions upstairs and encourages his skipper to do the same.

“If you look at the footage, Peter Handscomb actually suggested Smith to turn around and look to the support staff. If this was a one-off, I don’t think that would have happened,” Clarke said in an interview with India Today.

“The fact that Handscomb has even thought of asking the Australian skipper to turn around and look to the support staff, I’ve got my concerns.

“…I think Steve Smith respects the game and if it’s a one-off, then it’s a brain fade.

“I want to find out more about it. But if Virat is correct and if Australia are using DRS that way, then it is completely unacceptable and it is not a brain fade.”