The previous match ended in acrimony when Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh was initially banned for allegedly calling an Australian player a monkey.

Singh denied the charge and the Indians threatened to abandon the tour.

They later relented after the bowler was allowed to carry on playing until his appeal is heard.

The third match in a four-Test series began on Wednesday at Perth with Australia holding a 2-0 series lead.

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Ironically Harbhajan Singh has not been selected even though he was eligible to play in the match in Perth.

'Magnificent'

The BBC's Nick Bryant in Perth says much of the rancour of the past 10 days - when Singh was charged with racism and Australian captain Ricky Ponting's men were criticised for bad sportsmanship and a certain ugliness in victory - is gone.

Offering up an olive branch, the Indians have withdrawn their charge against the Australian spinner Brad Hogg, who allegedly used the word "bastard" against captain Anil Kumble and batsman Mahendra Dhoni.

Match referee Mike Proctor called that gesture "magnificent". Hogg, a West Australian, called it "lovely".

But the two sides have abandoned their agreement of trusting the word of fielders on disputed low catches.

Both teams had agreed to trust the fielder's integrity rather than refer the decision to the third umpire at the start of the series.

But the accord was discarded after the controversial Sydney Test, which was blighted by contentious catches.

The Sydney Test saw a series of poor umpiring decisions and over-zealous appealing.

Hours after it finished, Harbhajan Singh was banned for three matches for an alleged racist remark against Andrew Symonds

(BBC)

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