In isolation, it was an outstanding game of cricket, made possible by an exceptional surface and two sides that have always believed in playing positively and entertainingly.
There were imperious batting performances, stunning displays of heart and character from the bowlers; at the end of the day, however pitiful that might be, the SCG Test will forever be remembered not for the quality of cricket as the escalation of bad blood between the teams, galvanised by some of the worst umpiring a single game has seen .
Anil Kumble is a man of few words, but unquestionable integrity and impeccable standing as an honest, sincere cricketer. He has played hard but fair, game enough to ride the tide and not look for excuses or short cuts. It's one of the ironies of life that he had to be at the helm in one of the most rowdy Tests; that said, Kumble ensured that even in severe strife, his band of warriors did not sacrifice either grace or dignity.
Right spirit
How else could you explain the captain, having manfully but eventually unsuccessfully battled for more than two hours to stave off defeat, lingering on in the field to wait for opposing celebrations to die down so that he could congratulate Ricky Ponting and his men? How else can you rationalise the entire Indian team, seething and angry, yet poised enough to line up to shake the hands of the opposition, as well as the men in the white coat who ruined what could have been a perfect New Year's gift to a billion people?
Even as India ran into one roadblock after another, they neither complained nor moaned. They knew they had been shortchanged, but they also knew that brooding over what might have been wasn't going to help.
They plugged away despite being convinced the elements were against them, and well aware that they were taking on more than just eleven men. Unsurprisingly, the skipper was in the forefront, leading by example with a paternal arm on the younger men in the side, bowling over after over in extreme heat as Australia batted on in the second innings to put the issue beyond India's reach, and then himself batting like a virtuoso when defeat stared him in the face.
For Kumble then to paraphrase Bill Woodfull's famous quote during the infamous Bodyline series of 1932-33 -- 'There were two sides out in the middle, and only one was playing cricket' -- had to mean he felt strongly about something more than the woefully sub-standard umpiring. His startling revelation at Sunday's post match press conference was unKumble-like, which is exactly why it has made such an impact. "Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game," he said, without theatrics, but with deep conviction and a sense of having been betrayed.
What hurt the Indians most wasn't the successes denied by the umpires, but Australia's absolute failure to honour a promise. Kumble and Ponting had agreed before the start of the series that the player's word would suffice in the event of a catch that might not always appear obvious to the naked eye.
Breaking the promise
Australia reneged on that promise when, twice, they claimed catches that were anything but clean. One of them netted Sourav Ganguly's wicket, the final nail in the coffin as it were, on the final evening. Umpiring mistakes can be put down to genuine human error, though it's another matter how the supposed best umpires make so many elementary mistakes in one game. It's when players knowingly turn their backs on an agreement that the unpleasant feeling of having been taken for a ride sparks indignation and ire.
The game, and indeed life itself as Kumble philosophically pointed out, will go on. Australia will bask in a record-tying 16th Test win, and speak of India being poor losers because they have always owned the moral high ground. Sadly, it's cricket itself that is the loser.