xtratime Logo

Smith rubbishes the allegations made against him by the Indian captain

[caption id="attachment_39214" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Skipper Virat Kohli with coach Anil Kumble during India's practice session on Wednesday. Image Source: XtraTime[/caption] Debasis Sen, Ranchi: Indian captain Virat Kohli kept the tensions alive in the series between the two teams with his comment on Wednesday. According to Kohli, “"I don't regret anything that I've said, but at the same time it's very important not to be stupid and go on with the same thing on a daily basis. "It was a mature decision on everyone's part to move on from that. We've seen instances from the past stretch on too long. It just causes disharmony and there's no outcome from it. "You'll always have two sides of the coin. One side will say one thing, the other side will say another ... it's in the best interest of everyone to move on and focus on the game," said Kohli during the pre match press conference here in Ranchi. Australian captain Steve Smith was not in a submissive mood either as he rubbished Virat’s allegations. According to Smith, “Virat obviously stuck by his comments. From my point of view I think they're completely wrong. I obviously came out after the game and said I made a mistake and it was an error on my behalf, it was a brain fade. In regards to saying we do it consistently, that's complete rubbish in my opinion. I think he was wrong in his statement.” Both Smith and Kohli will meet ICC match referee Richie Richardson before the start of the match. On being asked whether he will ask Kohli about the allegations, Smith replied, “Both Virat and I are meeting with Richie before the game tomorrow when we arrive at the ground. I think it will just be a similar sort of thing with Richie just ensuring that we're both here to play cricket and cricket is the winner this week.” It is quite evident that there are tensions between the two camps. Situation got worsened after the Bangalore test match as much so that a joint statement from the boards indicated Kohli and Smith would meet on match-eve to commit to "play the rest of the series in the right spirit". It would be naive to think that the aggressive Virat Kohli and his team would bury it under the hatchet after their series-leveling turnaround in Bengaluru. Indian coach Anil Kumble did made it clear yesterday that he would be the last person to curb the aggression of the players. "I don't want to curb any natural instinct of the players as long as they go out there and do what is expected of them. I don't think we need to read too much into the aggression. Every player has his own way of having a game face," Kumble said ahead of the third Test. As far as the team news is concerned, both teams will be forced to make changes in the playing eleven from the Bangalore test match. Murali Vijay looks certain to make a comeback in the playing XI in place of Abhinav Mukund. Vijay had a shoulder injury which kept him out of the second test match. The rest of the squad may remain the same. Australia on the other hand will be weakened by the absence of pace spearhead Mitchell Starc. Steve Smith did admit that it was a huge blow for them to miss someone of the caliber of Starc. “Obviously, when you lose someone with the class and calibre of Starc, it's always difficult. But we're confident that the rest of the bowling group can do the job to take 20 wickets in this Test match,” said Smith on Starc’s absence. Victorian fast bowler Pat Cummins is all set to make a comeback after 6 years. The former Knight Riders fast bowler last played in 2011 against South Africa. The visitors will be forced to make another replacement as Mitchell Marsh too has been ruled out due to injury. All rounders Marcus Stoinis or Glen Maxwell may come in for the Mitch Marsh. [caption id="attachment_39215" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Aussie skipper Steve Smith and coach Darren Lehmann inspecting the Ranchi pitch on Wednesday. Image Source: XtraTime[/caption] Another point of interest will be the 22 yards, as to how it will play over the next five days. The visitors were taken back with surprise to look at the wicket today before practice. Captain Steve Smith along with Coach Darren Lehmann were standing in the middle of the wicket and discussing for almost 15 minutes. Already under fire from ICC over the wickets, it will be interesting to see how the wicket turns out. ICC had rated the Pune pitch as poor, while in Bengaluru it was levelled 'below average' as the spotlight is firmly back on the Ranchi's 22 yards in the home town of former India captain MS Dhoni. On the surface of it the pitch looks a dustbowl tailor-made for the spinners, even as the chief curator SB Singh was seen instruct watering the surface. Match referee Richie Richardson too was seen spending a considerable time with the curator in the morning. India coach Anil Kumble was seen taking a long at the surface in consultation with East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick assessing the firmness of the pitch. All in all the stage is set for a enthralling contest between the bat and ball over the next five days, which also happens to be the maiden test match at the venue. Teams from : India: Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav. Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell/Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Nathan Lyon, Stephen O’Keefe, Josh Hazzlewood and Pat Cummins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2ssQ7Qr05M