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The Dukes ball was once again the focus on Day 2 of the Lord's test between India and England. The controversy erupted after Mohammed Siraj Siraj started complaining to the umpire about the condition of the ball during the first few overs of the day. This came after Jasprit Bumrah had taken three massive wickets with the old ball and had restricted the hosts to 271/7 at one stage.
Following Siraj's protest, the ball was changed, however the Indian team wasn't happy at all with the new ball that they had got. India captain Shubman Gill even got involved in a heated argument with the on-field umpire due to the ball. Siraj even went on to give a sarcastic remark to the umpire stating, "This is 10-overs old ball? Seriously?"
Gavaskar wasn't a fan of the new ball that India got
Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was critical of the new ball that the umpire had provided to the Men in Blue. He even went on to say that if the same thing had happened in India, the English media would have made a big deal about it.
"Even from here you can see that is not a 10-overs old ball, that is like a 20-overs old ball. If this would have happened in India... where if there were not enough balls similar to the ones replaced, the British Media would have certainly made a big deal out of it," Gavaskar said on commentary.
Former England pacer Stuart Broad also felt that it was 'unacceptable' that the ball was getting changed so frequently. He added that a ball should be used for close to 80 overs rather than lasting for just 10 overs.
"The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper. Barely noticed. We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue, & being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. Feels like it's been 5 years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it. A ball should last 80 overs. Not 10," Broad wrote on X.
Meanwhile, England got bundled out for 387 in their first innings on the second day of Lord's Test. In reply, India didn't have the best of starts to their inning as they lost Yashasvi Jaiswal in just the second over to the returning Jofra Archer, who picked up his first Test scalp in over four years.
KL Rahul and Karun Niar would form a decent stand of 61 before the latter got dismissed by Ben Stokes for 40 runs. Chris Woakes would then get the big wicket of Gill for just 16 runs as the visitors looked to be in a spot of bother at one stage on 107/3. However, Rahul and Rishabh Pant's 38-run stand got the side some much-needed stability and saw them finish the second day on 145/3. Rahul was unbeaten on 55 while Pant also came back to the dugout unbeaten on 19. The Men in Blue still trail the hosts by 242 runs and will be looking to move into the lead as the third day progresses.
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