12 January,2021 06:28 AM IST | Sydney | Agencies
Rishabh Pant slams one during his 118-ball 97
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan on Monday criticised Australia's Steve Smith after he was seen scuffing up the area around the batting crease in a bid to erase the batting guard mark taken by India's Rishabh Pant. The incident occurred on Day Five of the third Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"This is very, very poor from Steve Smith," Vaughan wrote on Twitter in reaction to a video posted by former India opener Virender Sehwag, showing Smith dragging his feet on the pitch.
"Tried all tricks including Steve Smith trying to remove Pant's batting guard marks from the crease. Par kuch kaam na aaya. I am so, so proud of the effort of the Indian team today," Sehwag tweeted.
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In the video, Pant is seen marking his guard again immediately after Smth's act. Pant went on to score a match-saving 97 off 118 balls. He hammered three sixes and 12 fours as he went about his innings at a strike rate of over 82, which was a lot faster than most batsmen in the match. Pant was eventually dismissed while trying to give off-spinner Nathan Lyon the charge, only managing to find Pat Cummins at gully, who made no mistake with the catch.
Smith, who went on to win the Man of the Match award for his scores of 131 and 81, faced severe backlash from fans as well, after the video went viral on social media.
Former Australian spinner, Brad Hogg stressed that Smith had no business doing what he did. "Batsman's area. Not his [Smith] space to mark! It did alert my eyes during the live coverage," tweeted Hogg. It may be recalled that Smith has been pulled up in the past for seeking a DRS opinion from the dressing room which is against the rules. He was also part of the infamous Sandpapergate scandal and banned from the game for a year for ball tampering.
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