Race roundup. The best explanation, without doubt, was the one offered by one BCCI official that the monkey was sacred in Hinduism and thus the crowd was praying to Hanuman. That’s right – the sight of Symonds on the field brought out intense religious fervor in Indian cricket fans. And they invariably pray by yelling “monkey” and scratching their armpits. Ladies and gentlemen, a pause for applause here for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. They never disappoint. IndieQuill

Game on? Will Anil Kumble, a proud, fiercely competitive and honest cricketer — his record speaks for himself — want to shake hands with an opposing Captain who, he feels, has played the game wrongly in a desperate bid to win? Is there a point, then, of playing on in Perth and Adelaide? i3j3Cricket :: A blog for fans of Indian cricket…

Cultures colliding. Cultural misunderstandings lie at the heart of the escalating row between cricket’s two most powerful nations. Just as Australian teams once did whenever they toured the subcontinent, the Indian players have developed a siege mentality. The whole world seems against them. They’re 2-0 down, the umpires are robbing them blind, the cocky Australians with their rough ways and bad language are getting away with murder, and to rub salt into the wound one of their favoured sons has been convicted of racism by a white South African on the say-so of the opposition players. The Roar – Your Sports Opinion

Get on with it. Unfortunately for all the world’s cricket lovers, Indian cricket authorities have taken things to a new low with their ridiculous shenanigans following their Second Test loss in the final few minutes of the game in Sydney on Sunday. Kerplunk – Common sense from Down Under

Stay and play? Those who are ‘calling the team back home’, do they realize what they want? They want a touring team – people who represent our nation in another – to return simply because we had umpiring decisions against us and the Aussies played unfair, and our bowler got (wrongly) slapped by a ban? Er, did we ever expect them to play fair, or sweet-talk us while we were on the field? Besides, we have made an appeal too – and until that is sorted out, we must play. The Great Indian Mutiny

In other news… what the Indian papers are saying:

If there is one word that can describe the way the country feels now, it is this: disgust. And it comes through in bold letters in an opinion poll done for Hindustan Times by Cfore on Monday. Indians are disgusted by the way their team lost the Sydney Test — done in by the umpires in the most dubious fashion— and was later hit by an outrageous racial slur controversy. This is not about cricket any more, they believe. If it was merely about winning or losing a match — no matter how humiliating the defeat. Defeats are okay, but not this. Hindustan Times

Bribing the umpires and playing illegal cricket is nothing new for Aussies. The country has shown the white supremacy characteristics in dealing with terrorism, bribed cricket umpires to win matches, stole world cup cricket through match fixing. The way Aussie cops dealt with Indian doctor Haneef was shameful. The racism was clear and blunt. The same happened in world cup cricket and now in the current series. IndiaDaily

Former India coach Greg Chappell believes that the mistakes made by the umpires in the controversial Sydney Test could best be termed as ”human errors” but the team which played better won the Test. Chappell said ” these were human errors and the third umpire also could make mistake as technology available today is not foolproof.” Manorama Online English News

If the ban had come under normal circumstances, it may not have excited half the intensity that is now on display in different parts of India. Coming against the backdrop of some atrocious umpiring decisions which definitely affected India’s fortunes at Sydney, the disciplinary action has got mixed up with the quality of umpiring that was on view. The ICC panel headed by Mike Procter has indicted Harbhajan for his remarks against Symonds, and on that basis, the ICC has imposed the ban on him. Harbhajan and his colleagues are incensed over this, and the BCCI has rightly backed the cricketer to the hilt. All of us in India would like to know what kind of evidence came up during the midnight enquiry that was held to look into the charge of Harbhajan’s misconduct. The Hindu

“Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game,” said an upset Team India skipper Anil Kumble after his team were beaten by Australia in the second Test in Sydney on Sunday. The second Test that was ridden with controversies and bowled by wrong umpiring decisions put the visitors on the backfoot. India spinner Harbhajan Singh has been banned for three Tests for his alleged racist remarks against Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds on Day 3 of the second Test in Sydney. The altercation has not just cast a shadow over India’s tour Down Under, but the relationship between the two teams if there was any has soured. Indiatimes