For those who are keeping score at home:
Day 1 - We are seeing the action live, in the 32nd over of the innings, as the master Shane Warne tossed one up to Aftab Ahmed, who, after witnessing the height and the spin on the ball, gave up on his usual defensive tactics and went for the usual long hop, which most others, quite far from his league, would go for the usual breakfast as well, only in the process of finding an inside edge as the ball kisses his toe and gravitates in the air for the next five seconds, only for Adam Gilchrist to lay his gloves underneath them after making a hand-eye co-ordination for an easiest of catches. The amount of time that this entire proceeding took place is less than the amount of time you could say “Kangaroo”, and the usual Australian reaction was the appeal (appeal, appeal, and more appeal - their entire lives revolve around appeal, as if one is jumping with a parashoot from eight hundred feet in the air and screaming for help from way above). The on-field umpires, Ian Howell and Aleem Dar (God bless his soul against the hatred that is spewing all around him by this nonsense), were unsure and so referred it to Mahbubur Rahman, the third umpire. Initial camera angles and slow motion replays suggested that it did hit the toe of the batsman, but the third umpire ruled it NOT OUT, and one would seem to think that in the first place, it should have been deemed as a final decision, period!
After the decision came through, both batsmen had a sign of relief and one was seen congratulating the other. However, amidst this whole relieving situation, George Bush’s clone literally made his way up to the standing umpire, and started questioning the “legality” of the third umpire’s decision (Remember, it is Aleem Dar so as far as the question of what the decision was - from Australian point of view, it HAD to be out). As was seen throughout the match proceedings yesterday, Ricky Ponting’s body language and facial expressions were that of a 5-year-old kid who was robbed of a candy bar in front of a packed stadium. The result of his heinous antics, the third umpire, who practically took five to seven minutes to make a decision in the first place (regardless of whether it was correct or wrong), was forced to reverse the decision back against the favor of the batter in a space of ten seconds, and the whole thing was over in the blink of an eye, and Bangladesh had lost their another wicket.
The commentators at that time were Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri (if I am not mistaken). The latter defended the Australians that “maybe” Ponting had the right to walk up to the umpire and “demand” the legality of the situation, but Gavaskar absolutely ripped Australians apart, over and over again. After the incident was over, they repeatedly showed Ponting in the replays walking up to the umpire with his hands in the air and pointing at all different places explaining to him “his” own point of view, which, of course, the entire Australian army would see it right and hang his piece of frame in their kitchens.
God forbid if Inzamam or Afridi were to be involved in such a disgusting crime, we would be facing immediate death penalties with a piece of rope hanging from our neck and a table underneath us waiting to be pulled at the eleventh hour. The cowardly act that Ricky Ponting did during that timeframe should be brought to justice, and he should be banned from playing future matches for a certain period of time, until he gets his head back together and issues an apology statement (Although he would probably go against his words one week later when his team fly out of Bangladesh).
A great batsman, a wonderful batsman, and arguably, the best batsman of modern era. Yes, he is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the single greatest entertainers and performers of this decade, but without an inch of a quality of showmanship and the complete lack of the spirit of the game which he possesses that takes away from the enjoyment and originality in cricket. The dictator, YES, THE DICTATOR, should be brought to terms immediately, in one way or the other.
