From ‘Brain Fade’ to Brushed Aside: Timeline of Smith’s DRS Drama

Virat complained. Steve walked. Virat rejoiced. BCCI succumbed. (Photo: BCCI)

One victory to India and one to Australia; that’s is how the scores are stacked, as far as the Test series’ outcomes go. But bring in a certain Steve Smith ‘brain fade’ and Virat Kohli and his Indian cricket team definitely find themselves in the winning column.

That is, if you don’t consider the BCCI’s late-night move to give in to Australia’s uncharacteristic demands to ‘move on’, with the Indian board sending out a press release stating they would be withdrawing their complaint, against Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb, with the ICC.

With both boards rediscovering their ‘love’ for the game, the DRS/Cheat/Smith-gate controversy now appears to be done and dusted with.

But if you missed out on the fun, here’s a timeline to take you through what could have been one of the juiciest news stories ever (at least till the Ranchi Test).

You Know How This Began

Steve Smith asked his dressing room for help with a DRS appeal decision. Virat Kohli caught him in the act (as did the broadcasters), and showed him the route to the dressing room.

India won the match by 75 runs, equalised the series 1-1, and Kohli celebrated by blasting the visiting party.

I would never do something like that on a cricket field... I do not want to mention the word (cheating), but it falls in that bracket.

With little he could possibly say to excuse himself out of the pickle he had jammed himself in, Steve Smith turned to his ‘urban dictionary’ for an excuse, dragging batting partner (at the time) Peter Handscomb into it all.

I obviously got hit on the pad and looked down at Petey, he sort of said ‘look up there’. It was a bit of a brain fade.

Post Match Smith Analysis

Ending up on the losing side has many drawbacks. Among them is the missed chance to speak at the post-match ceremony.

So how was Peter Handscomb to play the knight-in-shining-armour to Steve Smith? Enter, Twitter.

The Aussie batsman used 137 characters to pick up some of the blame.
I referred Smudga to look at the box,” he tweeted. But who cared!

The newspapers and TV channels the next morning were bursting with Indian greats demanding retribution for the alleged violation of the “spirit of the game”.

Surprisingly, even Michael Clarke took a dig at his team. “I want to find out from the Australian team if they're using the DRS in that way, if they are then that is unacceptable,” Clarke told India Today channel. He was, after all, at the cusp of a major Indian book tour of his biography.

Another former skipper, Steve Waugh, decided it was time to “move on”. Already!

Read: Aus Wants Kohli and India to ‘Move On’. Uh, Remember Monkeygate?

Board-ing Drama

Steve Waugh cued it up just right for Cricket Australia to take over. The charges on their skipper and team were “outrageous,” the Aussie cricket board said.

India’s BCCI finally found time to step into the unfolding drama, asking the ICC to “take cognisance” of the fact that Steve Smith had admitted to a “brain fade” and that even Handscomb had admitted to the mistake. Must. Be. Punished.

After that something new followed. Something right out of the unknown. Alien-like.

The BCCI gave up.

In a 11:28 pm “joint press release”, the Indian cricket board said they had worked things out with their Aussie counterparts and “resolved to restore focus” on the cricket.

India has always cherished a contest with Australia and over the years, the performances of both, the teams and the players, are testimony to the level of competitiveness that exists between these two teams. While having responded officially to one such incident which happened in the last Test, together, we believe that the focus of the teams and the joy they provide to the fans, should not be diluted and it is imperative to ensure that the rest of the series, which promises a great cricketing contest, not be compromised.

Rahul Johri, BCCI

Charges will now be withdrawn. India will lose this one, off the field.