Team India leaves no stones unturned to ensure that it gives England a hard time in the progressive four-Test series for the Anthony de Mello Trophy. India currently leads the series 2-1, with the final Test being held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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Meanwhile, on Day 1, things got tide deep when a couple of players were involved in a verbal altercation. While pacer Mohammed Siraj was bowling at all-rounder Ben Stokes during the English innings, there seemed to be some chatter between the two.
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Later, Indian skipper Virat Kohli was seen joining in, as he had a heated argument with Stokes as well. Nonetheless, all seemed fine in the end.
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Meanwhile, following the day's play, Siraj claimed that Stokes had initially verbally abused him. "In Australia, or in India, wherever I bowl, I want to put 100% effort to bowl. Every ball, I tell myself, 'bowl properly.' Ben Stokes Mujhe abused me, so I told Virat Bhai about that. Virat Bhai handled it thereafter," he said during the press conference.
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Although Kohli was not available for comment, Stokes brushed it aside, indicating that it wasn't something serious at all. "The thing in cricket nowadays is that it becomes a massive talking point when two opponents have a word with each other. People seem, I do not know, not lose their heads, but they think it is all wrong," he said.
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"Look at it from a different way. Guys care about what they are doing and what they are representing. Playing against each other, we are competitors and we are not going to back down to anyone, whoever it may be. It is nice to see two competitors going toe to toe against each other and no one is backing down. For me, that was it, two competitive guys trying to get over each other," he added.
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Match summaryWinning the toss, England batted first and was bowled out for 205, thanks to Axar Patel's four-for, while Stokes scored 55. As for India, it is past 50, having lost three wickets, with Rohit Sharma taking charge.Brief scores: England 205 (Stokes 55; Patel 468, Ashwin 347) leads India 804 (Rohit 32*; Anderson 27) by 125 runs.
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