Shubman Gill is usually calm. But what was witnessed in the closing stages of Day 3 of the Lord’s Test between India and England was anything but it.
In the first session on Saturday, when India began to score freely, prompting Sanjay Manjrekar to call England’s performance ‘disappointing’, no one could have guessed what the final stages of play was about to throw. He felt a lack of excitement. No drama.
Perhaps Gill, who was moving around in the dressing room, felt the same. During the entirety of the Indian innings, he was very busy. From walking around near the Lord’s Balcony restlessly to having a chat with Rishabh Pant or coach Gautam Gambhir, one could sense that Gill had a plan, a part of which he unleashed on England near the close of play.
Tempers flared in the final over of an intense third day’s play at Lord’s as drama unfolded between Zak Crawley and the Indian fielders, particularly Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill, during England’s second innings. England, having bowled out India for 387 to level the scores, managed to reach 2/0 at stumps but not before tensions spiked during Bumrah’s opening over.
With Crawley on strike, the right-hander stretched the over with multiple interruptions, leading to clear frustration in the Indian camp. Crawley took a double off the second ball but then consumed time with repeated delays.
He pulled away from his stance before the third delivery, citing a sight screen issue, prompting Gill at second slip to shout out in visible anger, “Grow some f****** ba**s,” a comment picked up by the stump mic. Bumrah, visibly unimpressed, returned to his mark in frustration, while other fielders also joined in with audible remarks.
Shubman Gill charges at Zak Crawley, hurls expletives, England openers snap back
The penultimate delivery of the over, a sharp short ball from Bumrah, climbed up and struck Crawley on the glove. As the England opener immediately called for the physio, the Indians responded with slow claps, a sarcastic applause aimed at Crawley’s timing. Gill, in fact, walked up toward the batter and gestured at the pavilion, possibly urging him to head off for the day.
Crawley responded, and Ben Duckett, the non-striker, stepped in, briefly exchanging words with Gill as both sides looked to keep things from spiraling out.
The rest of Bumrah’s deliveries were hostile and probing, and Crawley looked determined to drag out the final over, possibly ensuring no more would be bowled before stumps.
The tension capped a gripping day of Test cricket, which saw India post the exact same score, 387, as England did in their first innings. KL Rahul’s century and a solid hand from Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja kept India in the game, but the latter’s wicket triggered a collapse with the final three wickets falling within just 11 runs.