Pat Cummins was quick to defend third umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat after a controversial moment led Indian fans to give the Australian team a final day of the Boxing Day Test.
The thrilling match went down to the final day with Nathan Lyon dismissing Mohammed Siraj in the 79th minute to seal a 184-run victory for the hosts.
But fury erupted around the MCG that same day when Yashasvi Jaiswal was controversially handed over following a review.
The moment even attracted the attention of Official Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla, who said: “Jaiswal was clearly not out.”
Pat Cummins, who took three wickets on the final day, bowled a shorter delivery to the 23-year-old batsman, who appeared to pass the ball behind him to Alex Carey.
The Australian wicketkeeper caught the ball, sparking massive celebrations from the home team, after Cummins' team found it difficult to remove the Indian opener who had amassed a score of 84 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was discharged following a controversial DRS check on Monday afternoon.
Pat Cummins' team had reviewed the on-field decision not to go out, after the ball appeared to clip Jaiswal's glove.
Upon review, Snicko did not show a shot when the ball passed through his glove, but the third official assessed that the ball had deflected.
Umpire Joel Wilson initially ruled out the catch before Australia reviewed the decision. Reviews showed that the ball had deflected noticeably after passing Jaiswal's glove, although Snicko was inconclusive in his findings and did not show any spikes.
Later, third umpire Sharfuddoula overturned the decision on the field, leaving India at 7/140.
Five overs later, Akash Deep also found himself at the center of a DRS controversy after he appeared to hit the ball off Travis Head off a Scott Boland delivery.
The referee again ruled no, and Australia opted to review the decision. This time, Snicko appeared to show an attack, and the third umpire subsequently overturned the on-field review and gave Deep his marching orders.
Many fans have taken to social media to talk about Jaiswal's dismissal, while some India fans inside the MCG were heard chanting 'Cheaters! Cheaters! as a nickname for the Australian team.
The moment has sparked widespread comment across the cricket community, with Cummins defending the third umpire in his post-match press conference.
“I think it was clear I had hit it. I heard a noise and saw a deflection, so I was absolutely sure I had hit it,” the Australia captain told reporters.
'As soon as we mentioned it, you could see him lower his head and basically acknowledge that I had hit him.
He was later handed over and Jaiswal protested his case, appearing outraged after the third umpire overturned the decision.
Further reviews showed that Jaiswal had significantly changed the direction in which the ball was travelling.
'On the screen, you could see it hit. I don't think anyone has full confidence in Ultra-edge and it didn't really show much, but fortunately, there was other evidence showing that it no longer existed.
The moment came at a crucial part of the game, when Australia had already dismissed Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli for 33 runs in the first 30 overs of the innings.
Meanwhile, Sharma seemed to agree with Cummins after the match.
“I don't know what to make of it because the technology didn't show anything, but at first glance it looked like it touched something,” the Indian cricket captain said.
However, he questioned the use of the technology, before again admitting that the ball appeared to be cut.
“I don't know how the referees want to use the technology, but to be fair, I think he touched the ball,” Sharma added.
'It's about the technology, which we know is not 100 percent; Most of the time we are the ones who fall on the wrong side. That's where we are unfortunate.”
BCCI vice-president Shukla went to X to voice his grievances over the decision.
He wrote: 'Yashaswi jayaswal was clearly not out. The third referee should have taken note of what the technology suggested. While the ruling field umpire, the third umpire should have solid reasons.
Sunil Gavaskar also highlighted that India will feel aggrieved by the use of snicko.
“I think maybe there will be conversations with the match referee and referees that if you're not going to use the technology, why have it?” the Indian cricket legend told Channel 7.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla also criticized the decision as “clearly unpublished” on social media.
Meanwhile, Australia frantically celebrated the elimination of Jaiswal, who had amassed a score of 84.
Cummins came to the third umpire's defense and said he thought it was “clear” that the Indian star hit the ball.
'That's something that will definitely be the issue as far as the Indians are concerned. Yes, it looked as if it had slipped out of the glove, but there may be an optical illusion.'
Interestingly, Jaiswal was seen walking alongside Head and the couple seemed to be exchanging words. Head was seen looking curiously at the opener as if asking his opinion on the matter, before walking away raising his fists in the air. The Channel 7 commentator was heard saying: “This is Jaiswal walking past Travis' head and I think he recognized him.”
Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting was firm in his stance on the matter.
“They can make of it what they want, that's clearly the coup,” Ponting said.
'I called him at that moment, Jaiswal started walking, as soon as the Australians went upstairs, he started walking away a couple of steps.
“Snicko hasn't proven it was correct, but the referee noticed the deviation, froze it where the ball was at the end of the glove and as far as I'm concerned there was no argument.”
Simon Taufel, also a member of Channel 7's pundit team for the match, agreed with Ponting.
“In my opinion, the decision was made,” he said.
Rohit Sharma admitted that Jaiswal appeared to touch the ball when it crossed over his glove, but was equally confused by the use of snicko.
Sunil Gavaskar also questioned the use of snicko and asked if umpires are not going to use it “why have it?”
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting was frank in his opinion, saying there was “no discussion.”
“In the end, the third referee made the right decision. With technological protocols, we have a hierarchy of redundancy and when the umpire sees a clear deviation of the bat there is no need to go further and use any other form of technology to prove the case.
“The clear deviation is conclusive evidence.”
While Nitish Kumar Reddy produced a century in the first innings, it was Jaiswal who was the pick of the Indian batsmen in Melbourne, producing a score of 82 in the first innings, followed by 84 in the second.
Despite struggling in Adelaide and Brisbane, he has impressed so far during the Border-Gavaskar series, making a first innings score of 161 in Perth.
India, however, must win next week's final Test in Sydney if they are to prevent Australia from winning the series and taking the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time in almost nine years.
Meanwhile, Australia can seal their place in the World Test Championship final by beating India at the SCG. If they win, they will face South Africa at Lord's later this summer.