India stoked the fire, but England doused it and won sledging battle at Lord's

India Today

2 days ago

When England and India were going neck and neck at Lord's, there was a sense that something was missing. It felt like ordering a plate of hot chicken wings or a bowl of spicy ramen, only to be served a much milder version. For spice lovers, that's a big turn-off - and for modern cricket fans, the Lord's Test was turning into more of a psychological battle than an emotional one.advertisementAs we know, in modern game, it's all about the vibes - and we had to wait until the final over of Day 3 to truly feel them. That Zak Crawley vs Shubman Gill banter caught everyone's eye and finally raised the temperature and excitement at the most iconic cricket ground.The fire was lit - and it was blazing - as Gill went at Crawley, with questions about balls being asked (as if the countless red cherry changes weren't already enough). Then came the Mohammed Siraj vs Ben Duckett confrontation after the England opener was dismissed, with the Indian pacer eventually fined for his actions.
All this added to the spectacle unfolding before us, especially as India looked like favourites. But then came the England response - and they gave it back to India and their batters. Gill, who had started it all, faced the heat and eventually paid the price, dismissed for just six runs.England kept amping up the pressure on Day 5. Jofra Archer's send-off of Rishabh Pant showed the hosts had their boxing gloves on - ready to serve some punches and deflate the opposition. The fire continued when Ravindra Jadeja and Brydon Carse had a go at each other after a mid-pitch collision, but by then, England were winning - both in terms of the match and the sledging war.ENG vs IND, 3rd TEST HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARDSo how did India lose the sledging battle they started?Did this young Indian team lose sight because of anger?When you get angry at something, there's a big chance you lose sight of your main goal and simply crumble. We've seen it in sport time and again - Zinedine Zidane's infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi during the 2006 FIFA World Cup final comes to mind. France looked set to win before Zidane lost his cool, and the rest is history.Maybe this Indian team, young in terms of experience, is yet to harness the kind of aggression some of their predecessors had mastered. We all saw how Virat Kohli performed with fire in his belly - dishing out hell to the opposition while still staying focused.advertisementMaybe Gill, as a captain, now has a decision to make - does he want to go down that path or carve a calmer identity? Sanjay Manjrekar made an interesting observation after Day 4. Despite scoring over 600 runs in the series, he tweeted:"Gill suddenly looking tentative last evening had a lot to do with the hostility he got at the crease from England. Virat performed better, the angrier he got. Dhoni the exact opposite. Gill must decide what gets the best out of him as batter - calmness or anger."A captain is the embodiment of his side. We saw the team rally behind Gill when he went at Crawley, but when England started giving it back - with the crowd behind them - India looked a bit rattled.Sunil Gavaskar, however, defended the team and said they weren't distracted by the incidents. In fact, he believed it brought them closer."No, I don't think it distracted them. If anything, it brought the Indian team together, and that's how they were able to dismiss England for 192. Otherwise, with nothing much in the pitch, England might've got to 280 or 290," said Gavaskar."And you would have seen, it wasn't just one person trying to sort things out - it was the whole team that got involved."advertisementEngland's counter-punch and winFor England, it was all about the response - and Ben Stokes led the way. He answered the sledging not just with words but with committed bowling and sheer determination. Soon, the entire team followed suit, as Jofra Archer later revealed.He said that ahead of Day 5, the team collectively decided that they were being too nice."It was a collective effort, to be honest. We all came together as a group yesterday and said, 'We're a bit too nice.' When we go to other places, some teams aren't as nice to us as we are to them," Archer said."So, we just tried to shift it a bit. I don't know if that's what gave us that extra buzz today in the field - but we'll definitely keep that one in the bank for the future."Well, it worked. On Day 5, the Indian team looked rattled. There's no issue with bringing heat to a contest - but you also need to know how to handle it when it comes back. That's a lesson this young team may need to learn.For England, perhaps the most telling sign of their win in the sledging battle came when they went up to a fallen Mohammed Siraj and acknowledged him for the fight. That was the end of this round - but you can be sure the battle will reignite in Manchester.- EndsTune InYou May Also Like