Australian newspaper accuses Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble of misbehaving with Oz official, umpires

New Delhi, March 10: The ongoing tiff over Australia skipper Steve Smith's controversial 'brain fade' moment is far from getting over.

Kohli is 'cricket's ultimate bully': Oz media

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) may have decided to put an end to the feud, but a report published in an Australian news paper has added fuel to the fire with a new twist.

Making scathing attacks over India skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Anil Kumble, a report published in The Daily Telegraph alleged that both Kohli and Kumble confronted the match officials and misbehaved with an Australian official during the second Test match in Bengaluru.

The newspaper has claimed that Indian coach, Kumble, stormed into the umpires room 'to lodge a mid-innings please explain'.

"As Virat Kohli left a tornado of destruction behind him in the Indian dressing room, fuming he had been given out lbw, it's understood Kumble went to seek immediate clarification from match officials as to why his irate skipper was given out at a key moment of the second Test," said the report.

"Kohli might be the aggressor in the brazen campaign India is running against Australia's integrity - even striking an Australian official with an orange Gatorade bottle - but coach Kumble, one of the main instigators of the Monkeygate fiasco, would appear to have reclaimed his role as the puppeteer behind the scenes," it added further.

The new twist given by Australian media comes a day after Kohli was criticised by them for his aggression and was even dubbed as 'cricket's ultimate bully.'

There are hardly any bilateral series between the two Test playing nations which are not mired into controversies both on and off-field and the recent chain of events are a testimony to the same.

(DRS row: Gavaskar slams ICC)

Earlier on Friday, the Indian board decided to withdraw its complaint against visiting captain Smith and batsman Peter Handscomb over the Decision Review System (DRS) issue.

Hours after the BCCI lodged an official complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC), BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and his Australian counterpart James Sutherland had met late Thursday (March 9) and decided to restore focus on the ongoing four-Test rubber amidst the increased attention that emanated during the course of the second Test in Bengaluru.

Both Australia and India have won one match each, with the visitors winning the opening Test in Pune by 333 runs before the hosts staged a dramatic comeback in the Bengaluru Test to pocket it by 75 runs.

With the series locked at 1-1, all eyes are now on the third match, starting March 16 at Ranchi. The four Test will be played in Dharamsala from march 25.

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