Umpire talking to India's K Nair after he argues with Australia's M Wade during the 3rd day of last test match. Pic/PTI

Hate to say "I told you so" but it was ever going to end thus...a gripping Test series that was allowed to spiral into an aftermath of bitterness and bad blood. In my most recent mid-may column (Hammer out this malaise, March 11), I warned of a poisonous atmosphere that was palpable, largely ignored by the match officials and justified in some quarters by giving immature men the benefit of the doubt when it comes to knowing where to draw an invisible line. Clearly, despite the rhetoric about IPL friendships and being inspired by the calming influence of the Dalai Lama, as the series reached an ugly climax in Dharamsala, players from both teams found themselves caught in a vortex of sledging that took the gloss off an otherwise enthralling contest.