Mohammed Siraj hurls mouthful after Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley get under his skin with time-wasting tactics

Hindustan Times

9 hours ago

Tempers flared in the final session of Day 5 of the first Test between India and England at Headingley, Leeds. India pacer Mohammed Siraj was not pleased with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley taking their own time and not getting ready in time. India and Siraj were desperate to get another over in and let the England openers face the music against Jasprit Bumrah. However, Duckett and Crawley ensured that India did not get another over in and the hosts walked into the lunch break with all ten wickets intact. Mohammed Siraj was not pleased with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley (Screengrabs - JioHotstar)
Before the final ball of the 30th over, Crawley pulled away very late, at the final minute, as he pointed towards the sight screen. The Indian speedster sprinted back to his mark again.
Crawley safely defended the ball, and the umpires called time, signalling the players to make their way to their respective dressing rooms for the lunch break. Siraj was not pleased with the chain of events one bit, and he had a few words to say to both Duckett and Crawley.
When the players were making their way to the dressing room, KL Rahul was also seen having words with both the English openers. However, this chat looked friendly as there were smiles all around.
Also Read: IND vs ENG LIVE Score: Ben Duckett hits fifty as England openers unbeaten at lunch
This is not the first time that Siraj has got agitated in the Headingley Test. In the first innings, he exchanged a few words with Harry Brook after the England middle-order batter sent him on a leather hunt.
In the first session on Day 5, the Indian attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja failed to take a single wicket as England strengthened their grip on the contest. Ben Duckett hits fifty
In the first session on Day 5, Ben Duckett slammed his second fifty of the contest, after having gone past the 50-run mark in the first innings as well.
Both Duckett and Crawley kept the Indian bowlers at bay as the duo mixed caution with aggression to keep the run-scoring brisk. The duo rotated the strike constantly, along with dispatching loose balls for deliveries.
In the first session, the visitors seemed rattled as they made 6-7 requests for a ball change. Their request was finally listened to in the 27th over, when on-field umpires Chris Gaffaney and Paul Reiffel decided to change the ball as it did not pass the ring test.
England reached the score of 117/0 at Lunch on Day 5. The hosts are still 254 runs away from a famous win with all ten wickets in hand.
Earlier, India set England a target of 371 following centuries by KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant on the fourth day.