KL Rahul and umpire Kumar Dharmasena engaged in a heated exchange during the Oval Test after an altercation between Prasidh Krishna and Joe Root. The incident added to the tension in the series decider, with India aiming to level the score.
Team India’s senior player, KL Rahul, and on–field umpire Kumar Dharmasena had a fiery debate on Prasidh Krishna and Joe Root’s heated exchange on Day 2 of the ongoing fifth and final Test at the Oval in London on Friday, August 1.
KL Rahul and Kumar Dharmasena were often known for their calm personalities even in the moment of heat. However, the two were seen having a rare animated exchange after Prasidh and Root were involved in a verbal altercation.
The incident took place in the 22nd over of England’s first innings when Root smashed a boundary off Prasidh’s final delivery of the over and then charged at him by furiously exchanging a few words while going to the non-striker’s end. The on-field umpires intervened to avoid making the situation worse, and the Indian players joined in a conversation with the umpire to calm things down.
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The brief but tense moment added spice to the contest, with both teams showing intensity in the high-stakes Oval decider.
Kumar Dharmasena and KL Rahul’s fiery debate
The incident between Prasidh Krishna and Joe Root resulted in a heated and fiery debate between Dharmasena and Rahul on the field conduct and the handling of the situation.
The Indian opener questioned the Sri Lankan umpire whether the visitors would just bat, bowl, and leave. Kumar Dharmasena did not like what KL Rahul said to him and reprimanded him for his tone. He also asked Rahul to meet after Day 2 of the Oval Decider.
Here’s how the conversation happened
Rahul: What do you want us to do? Be quiet?
Dharmasena: You will like any bowler come and walk to you? No, you can't do that. No, Rahul, we should not go on that way.
Rahul: What do you want us to do? Just bat and bowl and go home?
Dharmasena: We will discuss at the end of the match. You can't talk like that.
The tensions between England and India had already flared before the Oval Test when Gautam Gambhir and pitch curator Lee Fortis had a heated spat after the latter rudely told Team India head coach to stay away ‘2.5 metres’ way from the pitch, triggering an angry reaction from the former India opener.
Team India is aiming to level the series
Meanwhile, Team India has headed into the Oval Test to level the five-match series and end the UK tour on a high. The series is currently at 2-1 in England’s favour after the visitors managed to salvage a dramatic draw in the Manchester Test, thanks to resilient batting by Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Putting to bat first by England’s stand-in skipper Ollie Pope, India were bundled out for 224, despite a resilient 65-run stand between Karun Nair (57) and Washington Sundar (26) for the seventh wicket, which revived the visitors’ batting from 153/6 in 49.3 overs.
At the start of Day 2, India were 204/6 after 64 overs, but lost their last four wickets for just 20 runs in under six overs, handing momentum early in the session.
In response, England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley had a fiery start to the hosts’ first innings batting, stitching a 92-run stand for the wicket in the opening session. However, after Lunch, England’s batting failed to carry on the momentum laid out by the openers, as they were bundled out for 247 and took a 23-run lead.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna dominated the proceedings after Lunch Break as they picked four wickets each to bowl England out for 247, with the hosts scoring just 155 runs for their remaining nine wickets.
