WTC Final: Frustrated Mohammed Siraj throws ball towards fidgety Steve Smith after spider cam movement
The incident occurred after Smith registered his century.
India pacer Mohammed Siraj engaged in a rather bizarre incident involving Australia batter Steve Smith during the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final at The Oval in London.
During the start of the second day’s play, pacer Siraj began the proceedings as he was up against the star of the first day- Travis Head. What followed was a single off the first delivery, which got Steve Smith on strike for the rest of the over.
With an unbeaten 95, Smith swiftly hit the ground running as he slammed two boundaries on the trot. In the process, the flamboyant right-hander recorded his 31st century off 229 balls which included 14 boundaries in his account. With this, Smith also registered the second-most centuries scored between the two fierce rivals, only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar (11).
However, it was in the fourth ball of the 86th over when Smith and Siraj engaged in a rather peculiar incident. The Aussie batter was seen backing away from his stance upon getting distracted by the movement of the spider cam. Despite this, Siraj, who had already begun his run-up, came running in and threw the ball in the stumps' direction.
Smith was startled by the move upon which he began pointing towards the spider cam, showing Siraj the movement. However, Siraj was seen furious with the Aussie batter and walked back to take his run-up for the next delivery.
The pacer concluded the over on a positive note, as he returned with three consecutive dot balls Australia got 336 runs at the end of 86 overs. Notably, Smith and Head combined to raise an unbroken 251-run partnership at the close of Day 1, after the Aussies lost three early wickets in the form of David Warner, Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne for 76 runs.
Team India will look to claw their way back into the crucial contest and revive their game by getting the wickets at regular intervals. On the other hand, the Aussies will be gunning to conclude their first innings with a heavy total and remain in the driver’s seat.
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