Craig O’Donoghue: If Australia had behaved like India this Test series, we’d all be labelling them as ugly

All eyes will be on player behaviour across the last four days of the fifth Test and the reality of this entire series is India need to pull their heads in. Day one at the SCG ended with gamesmanship and tension and both teams went extremely close to crossing the line of what’s acceptable. Neither team can afford to step over the line from here. India has crossed the line too often this summer, they’ve made too many complaints and haven’t shown enough leadership. If Pat Cummins and his team had behaved like the Indians have this series, they’d be labelled as ugly Aussies – and the tag would be justified. The money India brings to world cricket brings an enormous sense of power. But as Spiderman said, with great power comes great responsibility. Let’s reflect on what’s happened. Umpires changed the ball in a match between India A and Australia A in Mackay amid ball-tampering allegations. Umpire Shawn Craig was picked up on the stump microphone saying “When you scratch it, we change the ball. No more discussion.” Craig then told wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan that he was reported for saying “That’s a very stupid decision.” What happened next? Nothing. Why? The general feeling was upsetting before the tour began wasn’t a wise move. The fear of India boycotting always hangs over tours with India. They made it clear in 2008 that the team would go home if a three-game ban handed to Harbhajan Singh for racially abusing Andrew Symonds wasn’t overturned. That suspension was later downgraded to a fine for using abusive language. India arrived in Perth for the first Test in November with an edge around them and shut out fans and media from training sessions. That’s not exactly a great way to promote a Test series but the visitors dominated and went to Adelaide feeling happy. That mood changed as the series swung. Suddenly Mohammed Siraj was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for giving Travis Head a send-off after the Aussie scored 140 from 141 balls. Head wasn’t penalised, yet instead of admitting his behaviour set a bad example, Siraj called the Aussie a liar and blamed him for starting the confrontation. Australian won that Test by 10 wickets and then rain saved India from defeat in Brisbane which raised the stakes for Boxing Day. Tension rose as Virat Kohli abused journalists at Melbourne airport, singling out the only female in the press pack while telling the men around her that he didn’t have an issue with them. It was crazy behaviour. Instead of trying to mend bridges, India denied Australian media the chance to ask questions in English at the press conference. Coincidence? Kohli then went out of his way to bump Sam Konstas after the debutant seized control of the opening session on Boxing Day. ICC rules say he should have been suspended. He walked away with a fine. Are we noticing a trend? India faced another key moment when it looked pretty damn obvious that Yashavi Jaiswal gloved the ball through to Alex Carey. But Snicko showed nothing so they ignored the clearest piece of evidence and complained. BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla went onto social media and stoked the fire. Could you imagine the reaction if prominent staff from Cricket Australia did that? Compare that to Steve Smith’s comments when asked on Channel 7 if he prevented the ball from hitting the ground before flicking it up to Marnus Labuschagne to seemingly dismiss Kohli in the first session at the SCG. “100 per cent, but the umpire has made the decision so we’ll move on,” he said. Based on everything else that has happened this series, imagine if the boot was on the other foot. Fan behaviour has also been unacceptable. Head’s wife’s Instagram was bombarded with pig emojis because India’s fans weren’t happy with his celebration when he dismissed Rishabh Pant. It was clearly explained that Head signalled he was putting his finger on ice, and that he’d done it previously. But fans decided to abuse his wife. That followed fans targeting players and their partners with abuse after Australia beat India to win the 2023 World Cup. How about the reactions from Indians when they lost the 2023 World Test Championship final to Australia at the Oval? Shubman Gill disputed an umpiring decision on social media following a Cameron Green catch. No action was taken. Then captain Rohit Sharma complained about the fixture not fitting into India’s preferred schedule. “Why after the IPL final? Why cannot it be March? June is not the only month we should play the final. It can be played any time of the year and anywhere in the world, not just in England, it can be played anywhere in the world,” Rohit said. Australia has seen what happens when small incidents build up. The line that people shouldn’t cross kept getting pushed further back and suddenly we were watching sandpaper being used during a game in Cape Town. It’s too easy to point to individual incidents and talk them down as not mattering or being in the heat of the moment. But when a trend of behaviour occurs, it must be stamped out. Sport should be played hard but fair. Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Four days remain in a tense series. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure it ends on the right note - regardless of the result.