Yashasvi Jaiswal’s alleged time-wasting during the Oval Test sparked controversy, drawing Ricky Ponting’s ire. The incident mirrors similar antics by England at Lord’s, highlighting rising tension between the two sides in the heated Test series.
The ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series has been nothing short of controversial between England and India, apart from an exciting game of cricket displayed by both teams. The latest has been Yashasvi Jaiswal’s alleged ‘time-wasting’ tactics on Day 3 of the ongoing fifth and final Test of the series at the Oval in London on Saturday, August 2.
Yashasvi Jaiswal had an impressive outing in the second innings as he played a brilliant knock of 118 off 164 balls, while forming three crucial partnerships with Akash Deep (107 for the third wicket), Karun Nair (40 for the fifth wicket), and Ravindra Jadeja (44 for the sixth wicket).
Jaiswal had an inconsistent run of form in the ongoing Test series against England, but managed to end the tour on a high with his sixth Test century and 2nd of the series. The 23-year-old was dismissed for just 2 runs in the first innings, but was quick to redeem himself with a composed and authoritative knock in the second innings.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s ‘time-wasting’ tactics fume England
Though Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance grabbed the attention, the left-handed batter’s alleged wasting the time in the Oval decider fumed some of the England players. The incident took place before the end of the first session, when Jaiswal showed his discomfort due to a cramp in one of his legs.
This came in the final moments before Lunch break, when the left-handed opener, who was at the non-striker’s end, walked up to Shubman Gill to complain about his apparent cramps in his hamstring. However, on-field umpire Ahsan Raza asked them to continue batting as only a few minutes were left before the scheduled break. This was seen as Jaiswal’s attempt to waste time in the final hour of the first session.
As the session ended, England players, especially Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, were seen having a few words with Yashasvi Jaiswal while walking back to the pavilion, as the hosts were quite unhappy with the Indian opener’s tactic.
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This was yet another controversy in the ongoing series finale after Gautam Gambhir’s heated spat with the Oval Pitch curator Lee Fortis, followed by Akash Deep’s banter with Ben Duckett, Prasidh Krishna’s verbal altercation with Joe Root, and KL Rahul’s fiery debate with umpire Kumar Dharmasena over the Prasidh-Root row.
Ricky Ponting unhappy with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s tactic
Former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, who is part of Sky Sports’ commentary panel for the ongoing Test series between England and India, expressed his disappointment over Jaiswal’s ‘time-wasting’ tactics.
“When things like this happen, and players start playing with the fabric of the game, it’s amazing how many times that game comes back to bite them. This is not acceptable.” Ponting said on air before the last ball of the morning session.
At the end of the first session, Team India posted a total of 189/3 in 44 overs, with Jaiswal and Gill batting on 85 and 11, respectively, and took a 166-run lead.
Jaiswal’s ‘time-wasting’ tactics mirror England’s similar antics
England must have been angry at Yashasvi Jaiswal’s ‘time-wasting’ tactics in the final over of the first session, but the hosts displayed the same antics in the Lord’s Test, which sparked a debate over sportsmanship.
The incident took place on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test, when Zak Crawley was seen taking time to take his guard and disrupting the rhythm of Jasprit Bumrah, who was at his menacing best in the final over of the day’s play. Crawley attempted to back out when Bumrah was about to bowl, angering Shubman Gill, who had then heated exchange with the England opener by accusing him of deliberately wasting time.
However, ahead of the Manchester Test, Shubman Gill revealed that England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were 90 seconds late to take the crease, and further criticised the hosts for not being in the ‘right spirit of the game’ by coming late to the crease.
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However, Ricky Ponting criticised Jaiswal for wasting time, especially after India had earlier accused England of doing the same during the Lord’s Test—highlighting brewing tension.
“And as you would expect, there is a bit going on here between these two teams, and fair enough. I didn’t like what I saw there with wasting time in that last over. Especially at the back of what happened at Lord’s when India complained about what the English batters did,” he added.
Meanwhile, India were bundled out for 396 in 88 overs and set a 374-run target for England to chase. Ravindra Jadeja (53) and Washington Sundar (53) scored half-centuries and a 34-run stand for the eighth wicket to take India past the 350-run mark. Thereafter, Sundar anchored India’s innings in the lower order and brought up his 2nd fifty of the series to get the visitors’ 400-run mark before his dismissal.