On Day 3 of the India vs England first Test match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Friday, India pacer Mohammed Siraj and England great James Anderson exchanged a few words. A desperate Joe Root threw the ball to his premier seamer Anderson in the second session, hoping to break the frustrating last-wicket stand between Siraj and Bumrah.
Anderson decided to mouth a few words at Siraj, who had swung and missed the last delivery, after completing the 84th over – his first with the second new ball. The Indian seamen, on the other hand, was not one to back down. He turned around and responded.
As Anderson walked away and Siraj changed ends for the next over, the situation did not escalate any further.
Images and videos of Siraj and Anderson’s brief spat were widely circulated on social media.
Before the latter was finally dismissed by Ollie Robinson, who claimed a five-wicket haul, Siraj (7) and Bumrah (28) put on a crucial 33-run stand for the last wicket that pushed India’s first innings lead to 95.
Rain forced the cancellation of Day 3 of the match. England were 25 for no loss in their second innings.
Earlier, while K L Rahul set the tone for the visitors with an 84 off 214 balls, Jadeja seized the initiative at Trent Bridge with his usual tenacity, hitting eight fours and a six in his 56 off 86 deliveries.
With it, the vivacious cricketer has fully repaid the team management’s faith in him when they made the bold decision to leave the seasoned Ashwin out of the playing XI in favour of a man who can bat a little better than the off-spinner, who is no mug with the bat in cricket’s top-flight.
In the presence of legends such as James Anderson, who finished with figures of 4/54 from 23 overs, not bad for a 39-year-old, England’s medium pacer Ollie Robinson emerged as the most successful bowler with an impressive 5/85, leading the team out. He’s actually too good, as he’s now third all-time among bowlers with 621 wickets, behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.
Rahul, the team’s top scorer, and Virat Kohli, the team’s top batsman, were among the wickets he took.
The Indians were up to the task, especially Rahul and Jadeja, while Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with useful runs, but it was not enough for the flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman, who was bowled out for a duck.
Earlier, Rahul continued to defy England’s bowlers with tenacity as India surpassed England’s first innings score in another rain-soaked first session.
Jadeja’s innings included a delectable back-drive off Sam Curran’s bowling and an on-drive off Stuart Broad’s bowling during that time.
After England scored 183 on the first day, India’s lead remained slim at lunch, but it provided India with a psychological advantage as they attempted to build on it.
It was another rainy day, with only 11 deliveries in the first 95 minutes due to a steady drizzle.
Pant, on the other hand, was ready to pick up where he left off in Southampton during the World Test Championship final against New Zealand (25 off 20 balls).
The flamboyant left-hander charged down the track to hit Anderson for a boundary through the cover region, just like he did at the end of the second day. The goal was to smother any outswing (Anderson’s inswing) and reach the delivery’s pitch.
Robinson played the hook shot while out of control when he dug one short, but the thick edge had enough power to carry it for a six.
Robinson was aware that Pant was living dangerously, so he kept a low profile in order to set up a successful trap.
Pant committed on the drive without reaching the pitch of the delivery as a length ball came to a halt, and the short cover was in action.
Rahul, on the other hand, remained unfazed, bowling close to his body and leaving the majority of his deliveries on the fourth and fifth off-stump channels. When he sent a Broad delivery to the boundary, he did bring his cover drive out of the closet.
