Australia captain Ricky Ponting hopes there will be no recurrence of the racial abuse that has been directed at his players during the ODI series.
Emotions have spilled over at the SCG between India and Australia erlier in the series. The two teams will clash for the first of best-of-three finals at the venue on Sunday.
India's cricket chiefs have told players to keep their cool during the tri-series finals against Australia to prevent more disputes between the two teams.
The Indian team has filed a written complaint with Match Referee Jeff Crowe and threatened to take a "befitting action" if it is repeated.
Australia fought back in their second innings after losing its top order cheaply to end Day 3 in the first Test against South Africa on 228 for 7, an overall lead of 322, at the WACCA, on Friday.
Ishant Sharma's fantastic bowling in Australia was rewarded with a lucrative Indian Premier League contract. The young Delhi speedster was purchased by Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata team for an astonishing US $950,000 in the players' auction in Mumbai on Wednesday. He registered the fourth highest amount in the IPL auction after Mahendra Singh Dhoni (US $1.5m), Andrew Symonds (US $1.35m) and Sanath Jayasuriya (US $975,000).
The Australian skipper is furious that the Indian off-spinner escaped with a light punishment.
Cricket Australia bore scathing attack from its furious players and local media for bowing down to the BCCI's "money power" and letting Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh off the hook with minimal punishment.
The spinner has, instead, been charged with abuse, a level 2 charge that merely entails a fine.
What does the stump microphone recording, a new element in the racial charge against Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, show?
Mitchell Johnson claimed his maiden five-wicket haul as Australia beat New Zealand by 149 runs in the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday morning. Johnson finished with five wickets for 39 runs to claim his maiden five-wicket haul. His impressive match figures of 9 for 69 earned him the man-of-the-match award as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.
The off-spinner said the team stood united in the hour of crisis and was the catalyst behind India's stunning win in Perth.
"Any fair-minded cricket fan would have enjoyed Anil Kumble's 600th Test wicket even though it was Australia's potential saviour Andrew Symonds," Waugh wrote in his column for the 'Daily Telegraph'.
Ponting told Nine Network's 'A Current Affair' program that "They're (the BCCI) entitled to do whatever they think is appropriate at the time, but to me that would be a little bit extreme. "From what I, and the rest of the Australian players can take from the first two tests is a lot of fun and a lot of enjoyment. "You'd like to think that one little incident like this wouldn't bring undone all the great work that's been done over a long period of time."
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was on Sunday night banned for three Test matches after the ICC Match Referee Mike Procter upheld the Australian charge that he had racially abused their all-rounder Andrew Symonds, a decision against which the Indian team will appeal within 24 hours.
Embroiled in a race row with Australia's Andrew Symonds, Harbhajan Singh will appear before a disciplinary hearing in Sydney on Sunday amid indications that the controversial Indian off-spinner will escape a ban due to lack of evidence.
If found guilty, the Indian off-spinner could face a ban of between two and four Tests or between four and eight ODIs.
"I am sick of all the bad-boy crap. I've no interest in hearing about how controversies follow me wherever I go," Harbhajan was qouted as saying by 'Herald Sun'.
Captain Shane Warne hit the fourth and fifth ball of the final over for two huge sixes to ensure Rajasthan Royals a three-wicket win over the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League match at Hyderabad on Thursday.
Unlike other franchises, which have roped in big hitting foreign players, Delhi have staked its title hopes on home-grown talent.
The former India coach has alleged an attempted cover-up by the BCCI after he was 'racially abused' at an airport in Orissa.
Relations between the Indian and Australian cricket team, at an all time low after the acrimonious series Down Under, could be mended during the Indian Premier League, which will start on April 18. Skipper Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee are among a large group of Australians spread across the eight franchises in the cash rich Indian Premier League and it is hoped that the Aussies could regain their lost popularity in India.
Australian photographer Hamish Blair's photograph of fans making monkey gestures during the seventh ODI between India and Australia at the Wankhede stadium smudged India's image in the cricketing world.
The two Aussie players allegedly incited the crowd during the seventh ODI in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Former Australia vice-captain and wicketkeeper Ian Healy, looking back on the just-concluded tour, says this Indian era should produce some real masters of the game with bat, ball as well as all-rounder status.
India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh left Australia with a parting swipe to his critics and opponents by saying he would not tone down his on-field behaviour.
The off-spinner was alleged to have made monkey gestures towards the crowd during India's victory in the first tri-series final.
India's Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday came under a fresh attack by Australian cricketers with opener Matthew Hayden calling the off-spinner an "obnoxious little weed", a remark which has the potential to create more bad blood between the two teams.
Robin Uthappa garnered the maximum bid in round seven of the IPL's players' auction, as Mukesh Ambani's Mumbai team him for US $8,00,000 against his base price of US $2,00,000. The next-best bid in the round was for Mumbai's batting sensation Rohit Sharma, who was taken over by Hyderabad for US $7,50,000.
Dinesh Karthik topped the bidding in the fifth round of the players' auction in the DLF Indian Premier League after Delhi bought him for US $5,25,000 ahead of South African veteran Mark Boucher. Boucher, one of the top wicketkeepers in world cricket and renowned for his hard-hitting batting, was second-best in the fifth round after Bangalore purchased him for US $4,50,000 against his base price of US $2,00,000, the same as Karthik.
South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis stole the show in Round 4 of the DLF Indian Premier League players' auction with a winning bid of US $9,00,000 by billionaire Vijay Mallya's Bangalore franchise. Kallis, who was priced at US $2,25,000, beat West Indies' dashing opener Chris Gayle, who was bought by Kolkata franchise for US $8,00,000.
West Indies legend Brian Lara will team up with some of Australia's finest players like Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Glenn McGrath for the Australian Legends XI, which will take on Big Bash League champions Perth Scorchers in the Festival of Cricket match in Perth on Friday.
Playing in his 124th Test, the 37-year-old became the first Indian and the third bowler overall to complete the feat.
Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh's appeal against the three-Test ban will come up for hearing on January 29-30 at Adelaide, according to an ICC spokesman.
India captain Anil Kumble hopes his tourists and Australia can put their controversial Sydney Test behind them when the two rivals meet again in the third match of the series at Perth next week.
Australia were struggling at 226 for seven after a rain-shortened first day of the third Test against West Indies on Thursday.
Or would you rather just give them a taste of their own medicine?
"I spoke to Malcolm Speed this morning and asked him if there was any problem in Harbhajan Singh playing the next Test match at Perth and he said that there was none," BCCI chief Sharad Pawar said.
A defiant Australian skipper Ricky Ponting maintained that he did nothing wrong by reporting Harbhajan Singh for "racially abusing" Andrew Symonds and felt his Indian counterpart Anil Kumble has been unfair in his criticism of the host team's lack of sportsmanship.
Sachin Tendulkar has denied sending an SMS to BCCI chief Sharad Pawar requesting that the tour of Australia be suspended until the ICC lifts the ban on Harbhajan Singh.
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