New Delhi: Australian skipper Steve Smith's act of looking up to the dressing room in order to confirm whether to take DRS on his LBW decision in Bengaluru on Day 4 sparked a major controversy as he got accused of cheating. In the post-match press conference, Smith sought to douse the fire, calling his actions a "brain fade" and something he shouldn't have done.


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"I got hit on the pad and looked down to Petey (Peter Handscomb) and he sort of said look up there (towards the dressing room), so I turned around and said what do you reckon. It was a bit of a brain fade on my behalf and I shouldn't have done that," Smith said at the post match press conference.  (IND vs AUS - Full Coverage | As it happened | Report)


READ: Was Steve Smith's 'DRS incident' in Bengaluru an act of cheating? Here's what Virat Kohli said!


The Aussie captain also clarified that it was the first time something like this has happened from his end, "I think that's probably the first time its happened and as I said it was a brain fade on my behalf."



Kohli, however, was in no mood to relent and claimed that this was not the first time the Australians had sought dressing room instructions on DRS calls.


"I can only say, if it happens more than twice, it's not brain fade," he said.


"I have seen it twice while batting. I have seen their players looking upstairs (dressing room). I told the umpires, this had to stop. I don't want to mention the word but it falls in that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field," he added.


Smith and Kohli had a brief but charged-up exchange of words before the former walked back to the pavillion. Smith played down that exchange as well, calling it "just banter".


Kohli was spoken to by the umpires after Smith's departure.


The two captains have had their fair share of run-ins during the series, frequently exchanging barbs on the ground.