The Indian cricket team were on top in the ICC Cricket World Cup clash against Australia at The Oval. Shikhar Dhawan blasted his 17th century and Virat Kohli slammed his 50th fifty as India notched up 352/5, the highest score ever made in World Cups against Australia. This was only the second time in World Cup history that Australia had conceded a total in excess of 300-plus, the first being 312 against Sri Lanka in Sydney during the 2015 World Cup encounter in Sydney. For Australia, it was a tough day as all the bowlers went for runs.
However, during the Australian innings, there was a hint of controversy involving Adam Zampa. Social media users uploaded visuals of Zampa putting a hand in his pocket and immediately taking it out to rub the ball aggressively. This raised suspicions that Australia was probably using sandpaper again to alter the condition of the ball.
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Steve Smith and David Warner after serving their one-year bans due to the ball-tampering scandal during the Newlands Test against South Africa in March 2018. While Warner was the leading run-getter in the IPL with 692 runs, Smith was the star in the three warm-up games against New Zealand. Australia is expected to get a hostile reception in England with Smith and Warner being the prime targets.
Both Smith and Warner received one-year bans from Cricket Australia following the sandpapergate incident during the Cape Town Test against South Africa. In the Test, Cameron Bancroft was spotted using yellow sandpaper to tamper with the ball. In the subsequent outrage, it was revealed that Smith and Warner were part of the plan. While Smith and Warner were banned for one year, Bancroft was banned for nine months.
The trio accepted the charges and faced suspensions as Australian cricket went through a dark phase. The players on the field were distraught and suffered defeats in almost every series they played post the infamous scandal. However, the Aussies bounced back in the limited-overs series against India in March 2019 as they defeated the Men in Blue 3-2 in the five-match ODI series before clean-sweeping Pakistan 5-0.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for one year.
- The sandpaper gate fiasco took place in Newlands during the South Africa Test.
- Australia have won 10 consecutive ODIs ever since the India series.
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