Former India all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri supported the heated exchange between India and England at the close of Day 3 in the third Test at Lord’s. Tensions flared as the Indian team grew visibly frustrated with Zak Crawley’s deliberate time-wasting tactics, which limited play to just one over before stumps on Saturday, July 12.
After India were dismissed for 387 late in the day, there was still time for England’s openers to face at least a couple of overs under challenging conditions. Facing Jasprit Bumrah, Crawley appeared determined to minimize the damage, stepping away from the crease multiple times and calling for medical attention after being struck on the hand.
Shubman Gill and the Indian team were visibly frustrated with England’s negative tactics, as Crawley survived the final over. Ben Duckett faced words from Indian players while leaving. Ravi Shastri felt such moments add spice to the game and said aggression is fine if kept within limits.
“If I’m wearing the Indian hat, I would have done all that. We call it Tamasha. All that is allowed on the field of play. You want all that, you can’t just have ‘good morning’, ‘good evening’, and then go home. Little bit of argy-bargy is okay,” Shastri said on Sky Sports ahead of Day 4 at Lord’s.
KL Rahul labels England’s Day 3 delay tactics as mere theatrics
Team India had faced a comparable tense moment during the fifth Test of the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar series in Sydney, when Usman Khawaja and Sam Konstas used delay tactics to avoid facing more overs late in the day. Back then, Jasprit Bumrah managed to dismiss Khawaja just before stumps, and the Indian players celebrated intensely, even surrounding Konstas in the process.
“Yeah, I mean, I have seen him (Shubman Gill) fired up, but obviously, we wanted to bowl 2 overs. There were 6 minutes left. Obviously, 2 overs is a no-brainer that any team will bowl,” KL Rahul said during the press conference after the day’s play (via India Today).
“But, yeah, it’s a bit of theatrics at the end. And, yeah, we were all pumped up either way because we know how difficult it is for a batter to come into bat for 2 overs when you’ve been in the field all day. We’re hoping we could get a wicket there and a wicket at the end of the day’s play would have been perfect for us,” he added.
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