The Indian team continued to get under the skin of England batters during the fourth day of the Lord's Test. After having multiple heated exchanges and arguments with England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett during the final over of Day 3, the visitors kept going with their uncharacteristically aggressive approach and continued sledging and taunting the England players on the next day.
One of the Indian players who made life very hard for opposing batters on the crease was Mohammed Siraj. Though the pacer is known to be quite expressive, he took it a one step further on Day 4 and gave a fiery send-off to Duckett. He even ended up ramming his shoulder with the batter after dismissing him for 12 runs.
Cook blasted Siraj and called him out for his actions
For legendary England captain Alastair Cook, this act of Siraj was a step too far. The former cricketer felt that there was no need for the Indian seamer to shout in Duckett's face. He added that Siraj should face repercussions for his on-field actions during Day 4.
“That’s unacceptable, but who is to blame now? Whether Duckett walked right into him and knew exactly what he was doing. Then again, you shouldn’t shout in someone’s face like that. I wholeheartedly say that was wrong. There should be no physical contact. Yes, celebrate a wicket like you mean it. But you’ve got him out; you don’t need to look him in the eye from three inches and shout in his face. So I expect there to be repercussions, and there should be repercussions. That is my opinion. I thought that crossed the line,” Cook said on the BBC Test Match Special.
Meanwhile, after getting bowled out for 193 in their second innings, the England bowlers helped their side in getting back into the match. They did so by picking up the scalps of four Indian batters during the final session of the day itself. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill and Akash Deep all lost their wickets as the hosts restricted the Men in Blue to 58/4 before the day came to a conclusion.
With KL Rahul unbeaten on 33 and Rishabh Pant next in line to bat, India still have a big chance of chasing down the target of 193 and emerging victorious at the iconic venue in London. However, on the other hand, England will also be fancying their chances of snatching victory from India especially after dismissing four of their batters in quick succession and will be brimming with confidence when they take the field for Day 5.