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Ponting insulted by Sehwag cheating claims

BANGALORE, India - Australia captain Ricky Ponting says he is insulted by claims from India batsman Virender Sehwag that Australia cheated during their 2-1 cricket series victory in January.

The opening match of a four-test series between India and Australia begins in Bangalore on Thursday in what is an eagerly awaited rematch of India’s often spiteful tour of Australia earlier this year.

Sehwag on Wednesday said India suffered the most in a “catching pact” during his team’s tour of Australia, whereby the opposing captains agreed to take the fielder’s word on the legitimacy of close, low catches.

“There is no point in having such an arrangement when the Australians are claiming one-bounce catches,” Sehwag told local broadcaster ESPN-STAR. “We’d have won the Sydney test match if they hadn’t claimed catches taken off half-volleys in that game.”

India lost by 122 runs in the dying stages of an acrimonious final day in Sydney when Michael Clarke took three wickets in the last over. Clarke was earlier involved in catching Sourav Ganguly in what video replays showed to be a contentious take.

“That’s fairly insulting,” Ponting said of the comments. “In the first innings I didn’t claim a catch because I wasn’t 100 percent sure. It’s amazing how they’ve picked out a lot of negatives from that game and don’t seem to be speaking about the Perth test (the third match of that series, which Australia lost), where we probably had the same things happen to us.

“Not one member of the Australian team has spoken about it. We go about our cricket in different ways.”

Ponting said his side, which was heavily criticized after the match, had moved on.

“The fact they are still thinking about a test that they lost is a good thing for us,” he said. “There was a lot that came out of that test, but we addressed the issues coming out of the game and it would appear, to us, they haven’t.”

Ponting said the victory at Sydney was “one of the best moments I’ve had on a cricket field.”

“To win the way we did was an outstanding effort by the team,” he said.

The match, which was marred by umpiring errors, excessive appealing and poor behavior, finished with India captain Anil Kumble saying only one team was playing in the spirit of the game.

Kumble said Wednesday the incidents from Sydney would have no bearing on this series.

“Let’s not sit and dwell on what has happened in the past,” he said. “I’m sure this series will be played in the right way.”