London, July 13
Former England cricketer Jonathan Trott weighed in on the on-field tension and India captain Shubman Gill's animated response to the English openers just before the close of play on Day 3 of the third Test between India and England at Lord's on Saturday.
The element of spice, emotions boiling over, and tempers fraying entered the picture after India packed their bags on 387, the exact total as England.
Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were tasked to see off the testing for eight to ten minutes of the day.
Before the third delivery of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's first over, Crawley moved out of the way twice, indicating that there was movement behind the bowler. Bumrah and Gill appeared to be unconvinced, feeling that the English opener was wasting time.
Gill expressed his discontent and yelled at Crawley from the slip cordon. On the fifth delivery, Crawley sustained a blow on the glove.
He quickly removed the glove and asked the physio to have a look at it, which caused pandemonium on the field. The Indian players sarcastically clapped and swarmed the English openers as Gill and Crawley engaged in a heated verbal exchange while pointing fingers at each other.
"A little bit of gamesmanship, and for me, we don't know what went on when England were fielding, whether they were dishing it out. But I didn't like the acting from Shubman Gill. As a captain, you set the tone, and as I have said before, pointing fingers and getting confrontational feels reminiscent of a previous captain, who used to get in the opposition's face. That is not what the game should be about. I am all for being competitive and tough on the field, but sometimes you have to rise above it. That said, it certainly sets up a fascinating day tomorrow," JioStar expert Jonathan Trott said on 'Match Centre Live'.
Coming to the match, Opener KL Rahul's ton and left-hand batter Ravindra Jadeja's 72 helped India to level the score at 387 on Saturday at Lord's, which was also set up by England in the first innings of the Test match.
At stumps on Day 3, England are 2/0 with Zak Crawley (2) and Ben Duckett (0*) unbeaten on the crease. The Ben Stokes-led side have a two-run lead in the game after the completion of the third day of the Lord's Test.
Brief Scores: England: 387 & 2/0 (Ben Duckett 0*, Zak Crawly 2*; Jasprit Bumrah 0/2) vs India: 387 (KL Rahul 100, Rishabh Pant 74; Chris Woakes 3/84).
- ANI
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