Ind vs Aus 2nd Test: Mohammed Siraj denies Travis Head's claim on send-off incident; two hug it out after Adelaide triumph

CHENNAI: Things became tense following a misunderstanding during the recently completed second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when Australian batter Travis Head was bowled by Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj on Day 2 of the game on Saturday (December 7) at the Adelaide Oval. Travis Head, batting on 140, was dismissed by a yorker from Siraj, who celebrated animatedly after the wicket. They then had a heated exchange of words following a send-off from the bowler after Head’s dismissal.

Head said that he had offered Siraj a "well bowled" comment but was gestured to walk towards the dressing room instead, however, the Indian bowler accused Head of lying and verbally abusing him, saying that was what led to his reaction. The Australian player did later admit to swearing during the tense moment.

Addressing the press post-match, the Australian batter said that he had joked with Siraj and said “well bowled”. “But he (Siraj) thought otherwise when he pointed me to the sheds. He got a little bite back from me,” Head quipped, as quoted by Fox Sports. He added, "I felt it was probably, yeah, a little bit far at the time.

"And that is why I am disappointed in the reaction that I gave back, but I am also going to stand up for myself."

Hitting back, Siraj claimed Head had misrepresented the events. Speaking to Harbhajan Singh for Star Sports Hindi, the 30-year-old Indian bowler said, “When you get hit for a six on a good ball, it fires you up differently. And when I bowled him, I just celebrated and he abused me… I didn’t say anything to him. In the beginning, I was just celebrating. But what he said in the press conference wasn’t right, it’s a lie that he only said “well bowled” to me. It’s there for everyone to see that that’s not what he said to me,” Siraj said.

Siraj added, “I respect everybody because cricket is a gentleman’s game, but what he did wasn’t right. I didn’t like it at all.”

Later, on Sunday, with day three of the second Test going the home team’s way and the Australian team securing a comfortable 10-wicket win, things eased between the two players.

Clearing the air with ABC radio after Australia’s win, Head said Siraj, while batting on Sunday, asked him, “‘Why did you swear?’ I sort of said, ‘Look, I didn’t at first … [but] I definitely swore at you the second time round’.”

Head added, “Sweet with it. He (Siraj) came out and just said [it was] a little bit of misunderstanding … I think we’ll move on. We’ve had a great week, so let’s not let it ruin it.”

A picture of Head and Siraj hugging it out on Sunday after the match showed that the two had indeed buried the hatchet.

Meanwhile, Australian captain Pat Cummins and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma have both sought that the incident should not be overplayed.