WTC Final: Basit Ali Accuses Australian Team Of Ball Tampering Following Day Two Of Showpiece Event

Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has made a shocking allegation against Australia following their exploits on day two of World Test Championship (WTC) final against India at the Kennington Oval. Basit reflected on the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill, stating how the shiny part of the red cherry was outside.

After amassing 469, Australia came out firing on all cylinders as they reduced India to 151-5 at Stumps on day two. Pat Cummins opened the account by removing Rohit Sharma, while Scott Boland and Cameron Green stunned Gill and Pujara, respectively, as they lost their stumps while trying to leave the ball. Mitchell Starc returned to get Kohli with a delivery that generated extra bounce, followed by Nathan Lyon snaring Ravindra Jadeja's scalp in the closing minutes.

The 52-year-old observed how the shiny part of the ball was outside during the 73rd or 74th over of Australia's innings. Nevertheless, he was shocked to see Australia producing reverse swing within the 20th over, characterized by Starc dismissing Kohli.

"No batter talked about what's happening with the ball. The biggest example is two batters got out while leaving the ball. I know that usually there is no evidence, but I'll give you one today. During the 73rd or 74th over, the shiny part of the ball was outside and Smith was batting as the ball came in. In England, when the shiny part is on the outside, the ball comes back in. It's not called reverse swing. Reverse swing is when the shine is inside and the ball also comes back in. If you look at the ball by Mitchell Starc that got Kohli, the shiny part was outside. The ball went in with the shine. The batters were trying to hit it on the off side, but the ball went on the on side," Basit told in his Youtube channel.

Basit Ali slams umpires for overlooking the events:

Basit went on to slam the on-field umpires and BCCI for not detecting a clear case of ball-tampering.

The umpires went blind. India is not my team, but I watch the sport with my spectacles on. They clearly tampered with the ball. Even Cameron Green's wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara, the shine was inside. I'm stunned no one saw it. BCCI is said to be the biggest board in the world, how can they not see it?

Australia will look to strengthen their hold on the WTC final further on day three.

Published on: Friday, June 09, 2023, 11:22 AM IST