Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley engaged in a heated exchange during the third Test at Lord's. The incident occurred in the final over of Day 3, with Gill accusing Crawley of wasting time. The confrontation sets the stage for a tense Day 4.
Team India captain Shubman Gill was involved in a heated exchange with England opener Zak Crawley on Day 3 of the ongoing third Test in the five-match series at Lord’s in London on Saturday, July 12.
England assumed their second innings with the scores level after the hosts and Team India posted the same total of 387 in their first innings, leaving the match delicately poised with no lead. England began their batting with an over left for play before stumps on Day 3. At the close of play, The Three Lions posted a total of 2/0, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett batting on 2 and 0, and took a slender 2-run lead heading into Day 4.
England will have an arduous task at hand to build a competitive lead on a wearing and challenging Lord’s pitch against a disciplined Indian bowling attack, as the match heads into crucial Day 4, with all three results possible.
Related Articles
Gill and Crawley's heated exchange
As the final over of the final session began with England’s second innings, there was fiery tension in the middle with Zak Crawley and Shubman Gill, as the hosts’ opener was perceived to be ‘wasting time’ by Indian fielders. Jasprit Bumrah was in a great rhythm, and Shubman Gill, from the slip cordon, teamed up to put pressure on Crawley mentally.
However, the tension flared up in the only over left for the day’s play when Crawley abruptly pulled out of his stance, disrupting the rhythm of Bumrah, who was at his menacing best. The incident took place after two deliveries, and the pacer was about to deliver the third ball when the England opener suddenly backed away. This infuriated Shubman Gill as he aggressively walked up to Crawley and fumed at him for ‘wasting time’.
Gill was heard saying, ‘Grow some f***ing balls’ to Zak Crawley as he was angry with England openers’ tactic of deliberately slowing down the game and disrupting the rhythm of the bowler. After the Indian skipper fumed at Crawley, other Indian players, including Mohammed Siraj, riled up the England opener with a few words.
Both the on-field umpires intervened to calm the situation, and Shubman Gill went back to his slip cordon before the final over of the day resumed. Jasprit Bumrah, maintaining his focus, completed the final deliveries of the day before the stumps.
The heated confrontation between Zak Crawley, Shubman Gill, and the Indian players set for a high-octane Day 4 of the Lord’s Test as both sides will look to gain the upper hand in a finely poised Test match.
KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja put India on top
KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja made vital contributions with the bat to help India recover from early setbacks and post a total of 387 in the first innings. The hosts resumed their first innings batting at 145/3 in 43 overs, with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant batting on 53 and 19, respectively, and trailing by 242 runs.
Rahul and Pant carried on India’s innings and stitched a crucial 141-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter was dismissed at 248/4 at the stroke of Lunch. Despite pain in his finger, the southpaw played a gritty and resilient knock of 74 off 112 balls, including 8 fours and 2 sixes, as England bowlers were seemingly applying bodyline tactics.
KL Rahul then completed his ninth Test century soon after Lunch, before being dismissed for 100 off 177 balls at 254/5. Thereafter, Nitish Kumar Reddy joined Ravindra Jadeja at the crease to carry on India’s innings. The pair formed a 72-run stand for the sixth wicket before Nitish was dismissed for 30 at 326/6. After Nitish’s dismissal, Jadeja anchored the visitors’ innings and brought 3rd successive fifty of the series before he was removed for 72 off 131 balls at 376/7.
Thereafter, Team India lost the remaining three wickets of Akash Deep (7), Jasprit Bumrah (0), and Washington Sundar for just 9 runs, eventually bundled out for 387 without taking a lead.
