In the midst of Australia’s dominant performance against India in the World Test Championship final, serious allegations of ball tampering have emerged, causing a stir among cricket fans. Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali has claimed that the Australian team tampered with the ball during the 15th over, using it to their advantage in dismissing two of India’s key batsmen, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. Ali expressed his surprise at the lack of attention given to Australia’s tactics by officials, commentators, and even the Indian players themselves.
Ali specifically pointed out overs 16 to 18 as evidence of ball tampering, citing the dismissals of Kohli and Pujara as significant moments.
Umpire Richard Kettleborough made a decision to replace the ball during the 18th over due to its distorted shape. Ali believes that this is when Australia’s fortunes shifted, as India went from a score of 30/2 to 71/4.
Drawing attention to the 16th, 17th, and 18th over, Ali highlighted the unusual shine on the ball when Kohli was dismissed. According to him, Mitchell Starc had the ball in his hand with the shiny side facing outward, but the ball was moving in the opposite direction. Ali questioned the competence of the umpires and those in charge, expressing astonishment that such a basic observation was missed.
Ali also mentioned the dismissals of Pujara and Kohli, explaining that the deliveries were markedly different. Pujara was dismissed when he left a simple delivery that hit the stumps, while Kohli was caught off guard by a rapid bouncer from Starc in his later bowling spell.
Ali argued that the Dukes ball, which was being used in the match, doesn’t typically exhibit reverse swing before the 40-over mark.
Ball tampering has been a sensitive topic in Australian cricket since the notorious ‘sandpaper gate’ incident in 2018. In that incident, David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft were found guilty of attempting to alter the ball’s condition using sandpaper during a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. Cricket Australia handed out substantial bans to Warner and Smith, lasting 12 months, while Bancroft received a nine-month suspension.