On the third day at Lord’s, Indian captain Shubman Gill couldn’t help but yell angrily at England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, who appeared to be attempting to waste time by avoiding having to face more than one over before Stumps. In the heat of the moment, he ended up accusing the latter and having a furious argument with the former. Almost all of the visiting players used strong language.
With little over five minutes remaining in the day’s play, England came to bat out for the third innings of the Test, and things began to take shape. In the hopes that he would complete his over before the cutoff time (11 pm IST), India gave the ball to Jasprit Bumrah so they might get another chance against the weary openers. Bumrah’s run-up was constantly interrupted and delayed by Crawley on strike, who kept stepping out of his mark.
What happened?
When Crawley came out following the fourth delivery, Gill could be heard chatting with both batsmen. Mohammed Siraj and Karun Nair also appeared to be very irate. After the sixth ball appeared to have struck Crawley’s finger, the right-hander hurried off the field and summoned the physiotherapist. Gill approached him angrily and gave him a mocking clap as Crawley attempted to defend himself.
After some more discussions, Duckett moved into the middle, giving Bumrah the opportunity to bowl his last ball, which Crawley deflected. He went straight to the pavilion, but the Indians continued to talk to him all the way to the end.
Shubman Gill abusing Zak Crawley for wasting time deliberately 😭 pic.twitter.com/HNHgIZqShl
— HXF (@_invincible11) July 12, 2025
Shubman Gill was trying to act cool, but Crawley and Duckett schooled him😭😭pic.twitter.com/8UnGRhV6WX
— ADITYA 🇮🇹 (@140oldtrafford) July 12, 2025
With his hands pointing toward the pavilion, Shubman Gill makes the ‘X’ sign of impact sub, perhaps implying that Crawley wishes to retire injured, as he approaches Zak and mockingly asks whether he is alright.
Gavaskar backs Crawley
The players went out together, and Crawley and Mohammed Siraj continued to talk. It was necessary for Ben Duckett, Crawley’s opening partner, to step in and pull Siraj away from his partner.
Unexpectedly, following the day’s play, Sunil Gavaskar sided with Zak Crawley. Opening batsmen, according to Gavaskar, do not have the cushion of nightwatchmen and, thus, naturally, did not wish to bat late in the day. Gavaskar stated that after Bumrah struck Crawley on his gloves, he had every right to call the physiotherapist.
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