The third Test match between India and England took a dramatic and heated turn during the final over of Day 3 at Lord's on July 12. India's captain Shubman Gill became visibly angry with Zak Crawley for time-delaying antics in the. Crawley was deliberately wasting time to ensure that England only had to face a single over before the end of the day's play. This frustration led to Gill engaging in a war of words with Crawley.
Jonathan Trott slams Shubman Gill for aggressive show against Zak Crawley
With only six minutes remaining on the clock, Team India was confident that they would be able to bowl two overs before the stumps were drawn. However, Crawley took an unusually long 90 seconds to get ready to face the bowling after the umpires had signaled the start of play. Furthermore, the England opener twice interrupted Jasprit Bumrah during his run-up. The first instance was because he claimed he wasn't ready, and the second was when he complained about movement behind the sight screen. These delays significantly angered the Indian fielders.
Gill approached Crawley from the slip cordon and reportedly used strong language, accompanied by hand gestures to express his displeasure. After India's leading bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, had bowled five deliveries, Zak Crawley called for the team's physiotherapist in what seemed to be a deliberate attempt to waste more time. However, with the clock approaching the scheduled close of play, there would have only been time for one more delivery anyway.
The incident escalated as several Indian players surrounded Crawley, with Gill confronting the England opener directly and exchanging words with him. Gill even made a gesture mimicking the 'Impact Player' substitution rule, suggesting that Crawley should be replaced if he was genuinely injured. At this point, Crawley responded verbally. He was then joined by his fellow opening batsman, Ben Duckett. Gill and Duckett stood face-to-face in a tense manner, while KL Rahul said a few words before walking away from the scene.
Meanwhile, former England batter Jonathan Trott feels Gill went too too far with his aggressive confrontation of Crawley. Trott also indirectly referenced Virat Kohli by comparing Gill's actions to those of a 'previous Indian captain'.
"A little bit of gamesmanship, but I think England, for me, we don't know what went on when England were fielding, whether they were dishing it out. I don't like the acting from Shubman Gill. I just think as a captain, you set the tone. As I've said before, you know, pointing fingers and getting a little bit confrontational, very much like a previous captain, sort of getting in the face of the opposition," Trott said on JioHotstar.
"And I just don't think that's what it's about. I think it sets a bad tone. And I'm up for being competitive and being tough on the field. I just think sometimes you've got to rise above it. But, it certainly sets up a nice day for tomorrow," he added.
Anil Kumble hits back at Trott's comment
Following Trott's comment, former India captain Anil Kumble came to Gill's defense and said it seemed as though the England team was deliberately trying to avoid even facing a single over before the end of the day's play.
"At the end of 2 and a half Tests, exactly halfway through the series, there's nothing much to differentiate. And yes, you know, from an English point of view, they wanted to just face one over. Probably they didn't want to face a single over, but they ended up, because even Jofra Archer, when he got that wicket, was disappointed that he got a wicket. So, yes, in that sense, it'd be great to watch over the next two days," Kumble stated.
At the end of the day's play, England had reached a score of two runs without losing any wickets, following their dismissal of India for 387 runs in the first innings. This occurred on what was an eventful third day of the third Test match at Lord's on Saturday. At stumps, Zak Crawley was unbeaten on 2 runs, while Ben Duckett was yet to score.