India have dropped a complaint against Brad Hogg, the Australia spinner, after a clear-the-air meeting between the respective captains, Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting.

The meeting, chaired by Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC’s chief match referee, was arranged in a bid to calm the growing hostility between the sides which erupted in the second Test in Sydney.

One of the flashpoints saw Hogg later charged by the ICC for using an offensive remark towards Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the India vice-captain. The spinner was alleged to have called the pair “bastards” and had been due to appear before a hearing in Perth today where he faced a ban of between two and four matches if found guilty.

However, Kumble issued a statement on Monday, insisting the matter has now been dropped. “What happened was that Ricky and I met up, had a discussion along with Ranjan and after that we decided that it was important that the game of cricket moves on,” Kumble said.

The second Test was one of the more acrimonious in history and feeling has been running incredibly high between these two sides since the match, which Australia won to equal their own world record of 16 Test match victories.

India were unhappy about the standard of umpiring in a bitterly-contested encounter, and Australia were criticised for playing outside spirit of the game by Kumble, when Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds refused to walk after getting edges, going against a gentlemen’s agreement that had been reached on the eve of the series.

India had also threatened to abandon the tour after Harbhajan Singh, the spinner, was banned for three Test matches after Mike Procter, the match referee, upheld a complaint that had described Andrew Symonds, the Australia all-rounder, as “a monkey”.

Singh has been allowed to play pending an appeal to be heard by John Hansen, a New Zealand High Court judge, and seems certain to figure in the third Test that starts in Perth on Wednesday.

Chetan Chauhan, the India team manager, said he was confident the remainder of the team would be played in the right spirit

“I don’t know if it is a victory or defeat for any side," he said. “I can only say that the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has taken a positive decision and they have taken an initiative to defuse the situation between the two sides.

“It’s a great gesture. Cricket should be played on the ground - not outside. The whole thing was a decision of the BCCI. They have consulted the captain and the team. But it was in the best interests of everyone.”

Both captains emerged from the meeting content with the outcome.

“From what happened with Ricky and I, we had a discussion with Ranjan and after that it was important that the game of cricket moved on,” Kumble said.

“Cricket is larger than the individual and it was important that we forgot about what happened in Sydney.

“So in view of that, we decided as a team that we withdraw the charge made against Brad Hogg. It was just one of those incidents, probably made in the heat of the moment and it was important that we moved on.

“We are determined to keep up the spirit of the game. We are looking forward to some good cricket.”

His counterpart, Ponting, added: “I am convinced that both teams can move into the next game clearly understanding the parameters under which the game should be played and the teams acknowledge that the game must be played in its true spirit.”