India won the 2017 BGT 2-1 at home against Australia.
India had made 180 and 274, while Australia had made 276 and was set 188 runs to win the Test in the fourth innings. Indian spinner R. Ashwin picked up 6/41 to bowl out Australia for 112 runs, and India won the game by 75 runs.
Steve Smith had top-scored with 28 runs and was dismissed by Umesh Yadav via LBW. When Smith was hit on the pads by Yadav, the umpires gave him out, and instead of walking off or consulting Peter Handscomb at the non-striker's end for a review, Smith looked straight towards the Australian dressing room, asking for advice about DRS.
This led to Indian players, including Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Virat Kohli, objecting to Smith’s gesture towards the dressing room. Since the allotted time had elapsed, the on-field umpires intervened and declined to grant Smith a review.
Eventually, the Australian captain acknowledged that his behavior was the result of a "brain fade." Virat Kohli and India accused Australia of employing unfair tactics as a result.
Nine years later, Cheteshwar Pujara revealed that the Australian team used a live feed of the match in their dressing rooms to see replays of dismissals in real time and decide on DRS.
“Every time you looked at their DRS decisions, they were spot on. They knew whether they had to take it or not. Until then, none of us Indian players were aware that Australia had a live feed in their dressing room. Normally, the dressing-room feed is delayed, but they had a live feed ready. So, they used to sneak a look towards the dressing room so that nobody would catch them and then make the call on whether to take the DRS or not,” Pujara told Aakash Chopra in a podcast.
“It was unfair in a way. You are searching for the loophole. If this was done by any other team, they would’ve objected. But they had no problem doing it themselves," he further added.
According to Cheteshwar Pujara, a lot transpired in the 2017 series against India since they were the first side to give them a worry since England in 2012 and Australia was eager to win a series in India.
“A lot happened during the series. They were desperate to win a series in India. Credit to them, though; they came prepared. They were the first team since England in 2012 to give us a scare that we could lose to Australia at home. Prior to that, they weren’t even able to compete as much. They had players for it. But on the field, a lot happened, and a lot of them I cannot talk about, which I feel shouldn’t have happened. These things tend to become a little personal," Pujara said.
In fact, Pujara admitted that he too sledged a lot during the series, given the intensity.
“I too sledged. We checked if the camera is on us or not, or if the stump mic is not catching anything. But you do not want to be in that situation. You do that when the opponent is sledging a lot; then you go into that space where I am not going to hold back now. Ultimately, the purpose is to pick a wicket, but a lot of the time you end up making personal comments, which you are not proud of," he added.
Australia had won the first Test in Pune by 33 runs, while India won in Bengaluru by 75 runs. The third Test in Ranchi was drawn, and India poked the series 2-1, with an 8-wicket win in Dharamshala.