The India vs Australia Test in Sydney saw some poor umpiring from Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson but the Test would be remembered for the Monkeygate allegations made by Andrew Symonds against Harbhajan Singh.
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During the 2007/08 period, contests between India and Australia were assuming a tense, aggressive edge. Australia were the undisputed world champions, winning in India 2004 after 35 years and also securing the World Cup in 2007. Australia dominated India in the 2007 limited-overs series at home. With frustration mounting in the Indian public and the players, the India vs Australia series morphed into something uglier.
In that same series of 2007, Indian cricket fans were allegedly making monkey gestures at Andrew Symonds in Vadodara and Mumbai. The racism allegations at that time were swept under the carpet. That soon exploded into an ugly row during the tour of Australia in 2007/08. The flashpoint of the ugly racism row called Monkeygate emerged in Sydney. It was an event that changed India and Australia relations forever. To compound it all, the poor umpiring saw outrage not just in the world but particularly in India where people felt that the match was robbed.
Australia had taken a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series thanks to a 337-run win in Melbourne. India made a strong reply in Sydney, reducing Australia to 134/6. But, from that point in time, the match descended into an ugly spectacle. Andrew Symonds was reprieved not once but three times by the umpires. When he was 30, Symonds edged Ishant Sharma to the keeper. The noise was clear but Bucknor did not hear it.
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When he was reaching his century, the third umpire did not give Symonds out stumped off Anil Kumble. It happened again after he had reached his century. Those reprieves meant Symonds scored 162 and shared partnerships of 173, 114, and 40 with Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, and Mitchell Johnson. From 134/6, Australia reached 463.
India responded well with Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly hitting fifties. But, the star of the show was VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. Both players scored their third century at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Laxman was out for 109 and Tendulkar also scored a brilliant ton.
Tendulkar then shared a partnership of 128 with Harbhajan Singh. It was at that time that a serious confrontation took place between Harbhajan and Symonds. Both were going after each other. The umpires had to intervene in a very serious manner. Something was not right. India took a lead of 69 runs. But, Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden hit centuries and Symonds smashed 61. Needing a target of 333 runs, India was on the backfoot.
India suffered from poor umpiring in the fourth innings. Bucknor struck when he gave Dravid out wrongly on 38. When Ganguly was looking like saving the game for India, he was given out when Michael Clarke appeared to have taken a dodgy catch. Umpire Mark Benson asked Ricky Ponting whether the catch was clean. Ponting took the fielder’s word. As per the pre-series agreement, the fielder’s word would be taken. Clarke would then take three wickets with just 10 balls remaining as India lost by 123 runs. Australia registered their 16th win but the tensions had only mounted.
Anil Kumble, in the post-match presser, said that only one team had played in the spirit of the game. But, the more serious issue was around Harbhajan Singh and Symonds. Harbhajan was deemed guilty by match referee Mike Procter and handed a three-match ban. This angered the BCCI who threatened to pull out of the tour. In India, effigies of umpires Bucknor and Benson were burned. Many analysts called for Bucknor to retire.
After the action by the BCCI, the sentence was reduced to 50 percent of his match fee. But, Australia was not satisfied. There was an inquest held by former New Zealand judge John Hansen over the appeal of Harbhajan. There was no proof of racism and the sentence was overturned. Ponting and Cricket Australia were disappointed. Symonds was never the same after that incident.
The legacy of Monkeygate made India vs Australia series tense from 2008 onwards. Australia’s dominance had ended. They won only one Test in 13 years in India since Monekygate, losing seven on the trot from 2008 to 2013. India, on the other hand, won in 2018 and 2020 Down Under. No longer were the Indian cricket team bogged down by Australia’s sledging.
In a way, the Monkeygate scandal ensured that Australia’s sledging tactics were not backfiring. They had found an opponent who could give it back to the opposition. But, whether the reprieve of Harbhajan is the right thing, we will never know. What is the role of Tendulkar, who was there as an eyewitness, will be debated. But, the Monkeygate scandal was something that changed India vs Australia contests forever.
