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'What happened at the end is just..': KL Rahul gives a mature take on the Gill-Crawley incident at Lord's
It was drama at the end of Day 3 at Lord's as things got heated between England opener Zak Crawley and Indian captain Shubman Gill. Since England had the task of playing out the remaining five minutes, Crawley enabled his delaying tactics and made sure that the play did not go beyond one over. Gill, who witnessed Crawley cheekily burning the time with his time-wasting acts, fumed in anger.
Also Read | 'Stupid Stupid Stupid': Rishabh Pant slammed by experts and fans after getting run-out at stroke of lunch at Lord's
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Southee's tongue-and cheek reply
Speaking after the end of the Day's play, England bowling consultant Tim Southee and India opener KL Rahul addressed the media said the heated exchange between the Indian fielders and the England openers reflected the intensity of the series.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah clapped in sarcasm as Crawley apparently faked pain in his hand after defending the ball from the middle of the bat.
'It's good. always exciting to see both sides animated towards the end. Not sure what they were complaining about when Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday. it's obviously part of the game. near the end of the day, it's an exciting way to finish the day. Asked about Crawley in jest, Southee gave a tongue-in-cheek reply, as quoted by PTI.
Also Read | KL Rahul becomes first Indian to achieve this feat in nearly 30 years with second century at Lord's
KL Rahul excuses Crawley
KL Rahul, who is an opener as well, tried to be in the shoes of Crawley. 'Yeah, he (Crawley) will be assessed overnight. hope he'll be alright to carry on tomorrow." Quoted by PTI. Rahul said Crawley's tactic was understandable considering he is an opener himself.
'What happened at the end is just part of the game now. I understand from an opening batter's point of view. I know exactly what was going on and everyone knows exactly what was going on. But an opening batter will understand completely what happened in the last five minutes,' he said.
Gill too was irked with the tactics of Crawley and his raw emotions were amplified through the audio from the stump mic.
'I have seen him fired up but obviously we wanted to bowl two overs. There were six minutes left. Obviously, two overs is a no-brainer that any team will bowl two overs with six minutes to go.
'It's a bit of theatrics at the end. We were all pumped up either way because we know how difficult it is for a batter to come in to bat for two overs when you have been in the field all day. We were hoping we could get a wicket there and a wicket at the end of the day's play would have been perfect for us,' added Rahul.
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